2023 Volume 42 Issue 6 Pages 726-735
The purpose of this study was to identify the required competency items for occupational therapy students to support a client's life in the community. The three-round Delphi survey was conducted. The results of the final round revealed 51 competency items based on an expert panel of 87 community-based clinical occupational therapists. 19 competency items were required at the 75%-and-higher level such as the items related to self-health management, risk management for the client, and constructing the belief-relationship between the client and their supporters including the family members. The 22 competency items were required at the 51%-and-higher and 75%-and-lower levels such as the items related to collaborations with the community-based occupational therapist and the client's family members or the other formal professionals in a community, the process in the occupational therapy approach, and the environments in the residential home or community. The remaining 10 required competency items were items related to collaborations with the community-based occupational therapist and informal care providers including the client’s neighbors and collecting information about social resources in the community. The results suggest that the identified competency items in the current study are required in community-based clinical occupational therapy, and thus should be part of occupational therapy education.
