Exploring Well-Being: Resilience, Stress, and Self-Care in Occupational Therapy Practitioners and Students

Abstract

Burnout is increasingly documented in occupational therapy (OT); however, practitioner and student well-being have not been examined to date. The research aim was to explore the relationship between well-being, resilience, stress, and self-care in OT. For this purpose, a cross-sectional survey of practitioners and students was done, including a background survey, World Health Organization–5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Mindful Self-Care Scale (MSCS). Open-ended questions and Visual Analog Scales were used to gather satisfaction and service access. Practitioners ( n = 235) and students ( n = 200) reported well-being “less than half of the time” on the WHO-5, “moderate” stress on the PSS, and “normal” resilience on the BRS. The BRS, PSS, and MSCS explained a significant proportion of variance on the WHO-5 for practitioners and students. Most participants used at least one self-care strategy and desired additional organizational services. The findings of elevated stress and decreased well-being underscore the importance of reimagining wellness initiatives in OT.

What is well-being? A scoping review of the conceptual and operational definitions of occupational well-being

“…[120]; 237 residents from 6 communities in Recruitment problems, which led to the study's being under powered to detect behavior change in a randomized intervention trial. [103]; Single healthcare setting and small sample size [105]; Convenience sampling [106]; Healthcare workers who do not have internet access or were not familiar with online platforms were not represented [107] 6-item Gratitude Questionnaire [126]; Neff's Self-Compassion scale (12 items) [127]; Confidence in providing Compassionate Care Scale (10 items) [128]; Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) [30]; Self-Compassion Scale [127]; Quality of Life in Dementia Scale (QUALID) [129] (Continued) that authors do not mention well-being unless they have measured it and if they use a composite of measures, we recommend they explain how the composite operationalizes well-being. Second, be as precise as possible in your conceptual definition of well-being.…”