Isn't occupational therapy necessary in the Iberian Peninsula? A qualitative study.

Abstract

Occupational therapy is part of integrated care/support in health services. However, there has been little research on how it is applied to rare diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the occupational therapy situation and services offered to patients diagnosed with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in Portugal and Spain. A structured interview was carried out by an occupational therapist with six Portuguese occupational therapists and four Spanish occupational therapists in order to collect the opinions about the reality of occupational therapy. Four interrelated dimensions were addressed. The first was a general perspective on psychosocial resources in health care, addressing questions related to the interventions offered to patients; the second and third was an occupational perspective, asking questions about the role of occupational therapy in the Portuguese and Spanish psychosocial realities; and the fourth dimension was a social perspective that addressed questions about the role of occupational therapy in the Portuguese and Spanish psychosocial realities. All the questions asked in the study ranged from a general approach to a more specific one and were focused on patients diagnosed with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis. It was found that there were no occupational therapists currently providing therapeutic interventions to patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in either Portugal or Spain. The results of the non-existence of occupational therapy services show that this group of patients does not have access to such a valid form of occupational intervention. This highlights the importance of developing and introducing the discipline of occupational therapy in the multidisciplinary approach, by creating potential strategies to promote its use.