Caregiver Spirituality for Children Receiving Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Occupational therapy provides a holistic approach to healthcare, addressing children’s and their families’ physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Spirituality is an experience of meaning that occurs when one engages in occupations involving the culmination of client factors, including personal values and beliefs. This study aimed to identify the importance of the spirituality of caregivers whose children receive early intervention occupational therapy. The researcher used a secure online survey software tool to measure caregivers’ perceptions of occupational therapists addressing their spiritual needs. The survey participants were caregivers whose children aged 0-36 months received occupational therapy services. Research supports the importance of incorporating spiritual care into a child’s plan of care to attain optimal health and positive outcomes when resolving crises. Caregivers found spiritual needs essential and relevant to their child’s care, although most caregivers indicated their spiritual needs were not discussed with their occupational therapist. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework states that spirituality is in the scope of practice. OT practitioners would benefit from incorporating spirituality into didactic and experiential learning to ensure an understanding of appropriate assessment tools, intervention strategies, and the development of client-centered goals to facilitate engagement in desired occupations.