Occupational Therapy in the hospital context: an outline of the profession in general and specialized hospitals in Salvador, Bahia State

The aim of this research is to describe the acting areas of Occupational Therapy in the hospital contextof the General and Specialized Hospitals in Salvador, State of Bahia. The specific objectives are to identify theprocedures performed by the occupational therapist and know the profile of this professional in this context.Itis a transversal descriptive study of quantitative approach carried out between March and November 2010. Thesample consists of 23 occupational therapists (2 men and 21 women), 67.5% of all area professionals workingin hospitals in Salvador. A questionnaire with 19 questions previously elaborated for this research was used asdata collection instrument. The questions focused on three categories: identification of therapists; acting areasand procedures performed; and Occupational Therapy and multidisciplinary work. Results showed that 95.2% ofthe professionals who work in the city’s hospitals are women graduated at the State Medicine and Public Health School (“Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública”). Regarding the Life Cycles, nine of the occupationaltherapists (39.1%) work with more than 1 cycle. Evaluations and guidelines were the most used procedures.Concerning multidisciplinary work, more than half (56.5%) responded that working together with otherprofessionals is very important to their practice, as well as to their patients’ recovery. The specific areas wherethere is predominance of occupational therapists are pediatrics, intensive care and burn units. It was possible toconclude that the practice of O.T. in this context is under expansion. The amount of professionals working inhospitals in the State of Bahia is still very small in comparison to other states. There is need for a more detaileddescription involving all possible areas of performance and the procedures realized by Occupational Therapyin the hospitals of the State of Bahia.