The ADAPT (Achieving Disability Aptitude in Physical Therapy and other health professions) Project is a qualitative study of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and medical students in the final years of their programs and residents across Ohio’s seven academic medical centers to discuss their level of comfort and preparedness to work with patients with disabilities. Through conducting focus groups that build upon previous research conducted with physicians, it is expected that this project will produce for the first time an understanding of both the level of exposure to and awareness of the Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education among physical therapy, occupational therapy, and medical students in Ohio. Through this understanding of the areas of alignment and identified gaps in knowledge, attitudes, and skills around disability competence, recommendations can be made for Ohio health professional training programs. The findings and recommendations from this project can then be leveraged to secure funding for a larger scale project to train Ohio physical therapy, occupational therapy, and medical faculty to teach and embed the Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education in their programs, which can serve as a model for other states in the United States to embed the competencies into their curriculum and lead to further national-level funding and work in this area.
This project is sponsored by the American Physical Therapy Association Academy of Leadership and Innovation.