Use of the Kawa Model to Explore Current Occupational Therapy Practice in a Hand Therapy Setting

Presenter(s): Susan Charnley, DrOT OTR/L, CHT; Aaron Beliles, OTS; Jay Hernandez, OTS; David Timm, OTS

Content Areas: Physical Disabilities; Specialties

Target Audience: Student, Entry-level, Intermediate-level, Advanced-level

Course Description: The purpose of this study was to explore occupational therapists' perceptions of current practice in a hand therapy setting through the use of the Kawa Model. Participants were educated on the Kawa Model, and then asked to draw a River depicting the rocks, riverbed, driftwood and flow within their own practice in a hand therapy setting. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore each element of participants' river drawings. Interviews were transcribed, coded and themed for this study.