Occupational Therapy, Geographic Disparities, and Digital Healthcare

Dear Colleagues,

Occupational therapy plays a pivotal role in enhancing the health-related functional performance and occupational engagement of individuals with or at risk of experiencing disabilities. However, geographic disparities in the accessibility and availability of occupational therapy services and occupational therapist practitioners pose significant challenges for their equitable delivery of care. Rural, remote, and underserved areas often lack sufficient access to skilled therapists, leading to disparities in outcomes. These disparities can occur within and across countries of varying income levels.

The advent of digital health technologies presents one promising strategy to help bridge these geographic gaps. Telehealth platforms, virtual consultations, and other digital interventions offer the potential to expand access to occupational therapy services, especially for individuals in hard-to-reach areas. However, while digital health technologies hold significant promise, their implementation in occupational therapy requires careful consideration, including technological literacy, privacy concerns, implementation and sustainability, and the ability to tailor interventions to diverse patient populations

This Special Issue aims to explore the intersection of occupational therapy, geographic disparities, and digital health. We invite contributions that help identify or address geographic disparities in occupational therapy services, workforce, practice, or outcomes. Similarly, we invite contributions that involve the study of digital health strategies to overcome geographic barriers in access to occupational therapy. Studies of digital health solutions without a direct focus on how they apply to rural, remote, or other underserved or low-resourced locations are not encouraged for this Special Issue.

We will prioritize original research and systematic reviews only. Non-systematic reviews, scoping reviews, single case studies, and theoretical discussions are of less priority for this Special Issue. Overall, this Special Issue aims to enlighten the geographic disparities in the occupational therapy workforce and service delivery, in addition to digital health tools in occupational therapy practices to enhance service delivery and minimize disparities.

Dr. Tiago Jesus
Prof. Dr. Raquel F. Simões de Almeida
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• occupational therapy
• geographic disparities
• healthcare equity
• digital healthcare
• telehealth