A Scoping Review of the Experiences of Ableism of Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Students with Disabilities.

Abstract

This scoping review synthesizes the literature related to the experiences of ableism for occupational therapists and occupational therapy students with disabilities. It was conducted across peer-reviewed published academic literature using seven health sciences databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, EMBASE, HealthSTAR, Web of Science). Our search, without date restrictions, was conducted up to July 2024 and yielded fifteen articles. Four themes emerged: (1) social/interpersonal experiences of ableism; (2) environmental barriers in occupational therapy education or workplace settings; (3) adaptive responses to institutional and interpersonal ableism; and (4) social advantages of disability. These findings contribute to effectively meeting the competency of equity and justice within the 2019 Position Statement of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. The findings can help to inform discussions about improving equity, diversity, and inclusion within the occupational therapy profession by raising awareness of how professional inequities may affect equity-deserving groups.