ABSTRACT

Objective: This study was conducted to survey the awareness of Occupational Therapy of the general public and suggest the improvement plan. Methods: A randomly selected 2,980 subjects from general public in Gwangju and Jeonnam province who agreed to a survey were participated. If the subjects had heard or known about OT, then they were guided to continue to the next questions. However if they haven't, the surveyor checked the questionnaire and finished the survey. The questionnaire consisted of four questions for OT awareness and other four questions for OT necessity. The data analysis were carried out for 2,967 subjects by excluding 13 respondents who responded poorly to the questions. Results: Of the 2,967 subjects, 252(8.5%) participants said that they had heard or known of OT. Being aware of OT was statistically significant in terms of age and occupation(p<.001) especially in their 20s(28.6%) and student group(41.7%). Regarding the necessity of OT, 215(85.3%) participants responded that OT is needed for our lives and an average of 3.73±75 out of 5 point scale was evaluated on the prospects for future OT. Conclusion: The current OT field is increasingly expanding as compared to the past. However, it has still relatively low recognition yet. Therefore, it is hoped that the results of this research will be useful as a basis for the establishment of policies for improving OT awareness.