OT Curricula Patterns for Acquired Brain Injury-Related Vision Disorders for Entry-Level Programs

Occupational therapists identify and co-manage ABI-related vision disorders impacting daily activities across settings (Wagener & Krieger, 2021). Despite up to 89% of people developing visual issues after ABI, primary routes for vision training in OT occur post-graduation (Lindstedt et al., 2021; Reiser et al., 2020). This study explored current OT entry-level teaching patterns for screening and comprehensive management of ABI-related vision disorders, including vision screenings/assessments, referral process, and curricular needs identified by educators. A mixed methods research design examined entry-level OT curricula patterns using a study-specific, non-standardized survey. Participants were recruited from a list of schools on the AOTA website and were required to have taught ABI-related vision disorders within the last 5 years for an ACOTE-accredited program. Descriptive statistics detailing curricula patterns were provided in percentages and teaching correlations were found with Fisher’s Exact. Curricula barriers and supports were assessed using thematic analysis. Of 1,391 educators invited to participate, 71(5%) began the survey, and 66 met the inclusion criteria. Vision screening was taught by most educators (>90%). Other curricula patterns were inconsistent with reported barriers including limited time, few fieldwork sites with vision services, and disagreement on the value of teaching vision rehabilitation in entry-level programs. Educators with ≥ 7 years of teaching experience and neuro certifications were significantly more likely to teach vision rehabilitation. Top curricula needs were vision treatment (92.3%), assessment of student comprehension (88.9%), and interdisciplinary collaboration for visual issues (87.7%). The use of applied teaching methods correlated with fewer reported needs.

IMPACT: The results suggest enhancing interprofessional education and curricula standardization for ABI-related vision disorders to improve the efficacy of OTs.

References

Berthold-Lindstedt, M., Johansson, J., Ygge, J., & Borg, K. (2021). How to assess visual function in acquired brain injury-Asking is not enough. Brain and behavior, 11(2), e01958. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1958

Reiser, A., Scheiman, M., & Bunin, G. (2019). Concussion-related vision disorder practice patterns in OT. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(4_Supplement_1). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73s1-po7016

Wagener, S., & Krieger, R. (2019). Participation and Quality of Life for persons with oculomotor impairments after Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(4_Supplement_1), 7311505121p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73s1-rp104a