Occupational therapy students from Black Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds: critical enquiry and lived experiences of belonging to the profession

Occupational therapy’s centennial vision (AOTA, 2009-2017) places emphasis on the incorporation and retention of an ever increasing ‘diverse’ workforce that is representative of the local population and therefore capable... [ view full abstract ]

Occupational therapy’s centennial vision (AOTA, 2009-2017) places emphasis on the incorporation and retention of an ever increasing ‘diverse’ workforce that is representative of the local population and therefore capable of meaningfully addressing their needs. It has been argued that increasing diversity in the healthcare professions…will improve healthcare access and quality for minority patients and assure an equitable healthcare system for all (Sullivan, 2004 cited in van Bruggen, 2009; p.xv). However, there are numerous barriers to this ideal, not least arguments of ethnic minority students feeling ‘excluded by teachers and fellow students’, with a ‘high drop-out rate’ for those who do initially join occupational therapy programmes, alongside poorly implemented diversity policies (van Bruggen, 2009). It is additionally contended that ‘literature in occupational therapy…has largely ignored the situation of therapists who are themselves members of social and cultural minority groups…’ (Beagan and Chacala, 2012; p.144), leaving a concerning vacuum of unheard perspectives and potentially valuable insight.

The occupational therapy profession has called for research addressing the subjective experiences of 'minority' occupational therapists and students as an important aspect of improving access to the profession and ensure workforce retention (CAOT, 2014) - Black Minority Ethnic (BME) students constitute such minorities.

This hermeneutic phenomenological research study aims to explore the lived experiences of ethnic ‘minority’ occupational therapy students at Brunel University London, encompassing both academia and fieldwork placements, with particular emphasis on how belonging is experienced. Occupational Science and Critical Race Theory are employed as theoretical frameworks to aid understanding of such experiences.