The Journal of Korean Society of Community-Based Occupational Therapy Vol.8 No.3 pp.49-57
A Study on Human Rights Sensitivity in Korean Occupational Therapist
Key Words : Human Rights Sensitivity,Occupational Justice,Occupational Therapy,Occupational Therapist
Abstract
Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of human rights sensitivity of occupational therapist and to compare the difference of the human rights sensitivity according to their characteristics and to provide basic data for the development of human rights education programs for occupational therapists in the future and to emphasize their role as human rights advocates. Methods : The subjects for this study were occupational therapists who chosen by snowball sampling method. The questionnaire consisted of 5 episodes and 30 questions to measure the level of occupational therapist's human rights sensitivity and 7 questions for identifying general characteristics of subjects. We distributed the questionnaire by on-line. 165 copies were collected and used to final data analysis. Results : The average of occupational therapists' human rights sensitivity was 33.52±14.96. According to the subcategories, the average of perception of situation was 20.44±2.32, perception of result was 19.85±2.32, and the perception of responsibility was 19.14±2.21. Among 5 episodes, The highest score was the right to pursue one's happiness of the elderly(12.72±1.56), and the lowest score was the right to personal freedom in disabled (11.04±2.23). There were significantly differences of the subjects' age, educational level, organization type, and the level of clinical experiences. Conclusion : Occupational therapists' human rights sensitivity increased with age and the level of clinical experiences. And the human rights sensitivity increased as they were exposed to various human rights related circumstances. The reason of the highest score for situational awareness was that empathy for the client-centered intervention is important. This study confirmed that it is necessary to have human rights education and various educational programs.