The awareness of Occupational Therapy among the public could be viewed as an index of the acceptance of Occupational Therapy. This study aimed at investigating the awareness of Occupational Therapy among the public as it has developed about forty years in Taiwan. Five hundred and ninety Taipei residents aged 18 and over were surveyed by telephone. The results showed that the understanding of Occupational Therapy among the respondents was limited, even mistaken. Only 8.5% of the respondents had heard of Occupational Therapy. The association between the variable ”awareness of Occupational Therapy” and demographic information about the respondents was examined using the Chi-square test. The examination revealed that those respondents who have Public Servants' Insurance, who are more schooled, and who are professionals, managers and administrators were more likely to be aware of Occupational Therapy (p<.0l). These findings are a valuable aid to the promotion of Occupational Therapy.
The awareness of Occupational Therapy among the public could be viewed as an index of the acceptance of Occupational Therapy. This study aimed at investigating the awareness of Occupational Therapy among the public as it has developed about forty years in Taiwan. Five hundred and ninety Taipei residents aged 18 and over were surveyed by telephone. The results showed that the understanding of Occupational Therapy among the respondents was limited, even mistaken. Only 8.5% of the respondents had heard of Occupational Therapy. The association between the variable ”awareness of Occupational Therapy” and demographic information about the respondents was examined using the Chi-square test. The examination revealed that those respondents who have Public Servants' Insurance, who are more schooled, and who are professionals, managers and administrators were more likely to be aware of Occupational Therapy (p<.0l). These findings are a valuable aid to the promotion of Occupational Therapy.