Current Education Offerings on Occupational Therapy: Addressing Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing Across the Lifespan

Occupational therapists play a vital role in the care of individuals with feeding, eating, and swallowing (FES) disorders across the lifespan. Although there are certain standards created by the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy (ACOTE) for understanding of assessment and management practices specific to FES, there are inconsistencies in how occupational therapy programs in the United States address FES disorders within their curriculum. This cross-sectional exploratory survey study received responses from 54 Master of Occupational Therapy (MSOT) programs and 63 entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) programs. Survey questions included quantitative and qualitative information on general information regarding FES content taught within the program. Survey results indicated only 4.8% of programs had a course dedicated to FES disorders and an average of 6.37 hours were dedicated to FES across the lifespan. Chi-squared tests for independence demonstrated a significant difference between pediatric educational hours over adult occupational therapy educational hours in FES (p\u3c0.001). There was no significant difference however between the number of hours dedicated to FES between MSOT and OTD programs (p= 0.146). The results question the adequacy of educational hours dedicated to FES management across the lifespan. In order for occupational therapy practitioners to bring their inherent value in contributing holistically to assessment and management of FES disorders, therapists must have knowledge and confidence in their skills. Ensuring that entry-level occupational therapists are adequately prepared to evaluate and treat individuals with FES disorders is imperative for the profession to remain liable and competent in the field of FES. While occupational therapy education programs are meeting the ACOTE dysphagia standard, the question remains if the number of hours programs are dedicating is enough to ensure entry level competency, as well as enough to compete with speech and language pathologists