Em. Kanny et Dk. Anson, CURRENT TRENDS IN ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN ENTRY-LEVEL OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY CURRICULA, The American journal of occupational therapy, 52(7), 1998, pp. 586-591
Objective. This replication study investigated what changes, if any, o
ccurred in the education of entry-level occupational therapy students
relative to assistive technology between 1989 and 1994-1995. Method. A
questionnaire was mailed to all entry-level occupational therapy prog
rams in the United States (N = 79). The response rate was 88.6% (n = 7
0). Results were compared with those of a similar survey that examined
the same issues in 1989. Results. Assistive technology education had
increased from 1989 to 1994-1995 in 11 identified areas. The highest i
ncreases were found in environmental access and robotics, sensory aids
, augmentative communication, and prosthetics and orthotics. Only 10%
of the respondent programs had less than 20 hours of assistive technol
ogy education compared with 50% in the earlier study. Thirty (43%) pro
grams included one or more technology courses in the curriculum compar
ed with 17 (29%) in 1989, and 62 (89%) programs included assistive tec
hnology content in lectures or units throughout the curriculum compare
d with 32 (54%) in 1989. Conclusion. Occupational therapy educators ar
e placing more emphasis on assistive technology education than they di
d in 1989 and are learning the skills to teach this content If this tr
end continues, we will see assistive technology content taught in all
occupational therapy programs in the next millennium.