The occupational therapist work force is growing at a fast rate
and employment conditions are good, according to a report released
today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
ABS figures at the 1996 census showed the number of occupational
therapists increased by 58% between 1986 and 1996. In 1998, there
were an estimated 3,586 registered therapists in the five
jurisdictions surveyed-97% of these were employed.
Occupational therapists are health workers who provide a wide
range of support to people with physical, psychological or
developmental injuries or disabilities.
Occupational therapy labour force 1998 shows that they
are typically female, aged 25-34, and work full-time in salaried
positions, mostly in public hospitals.
Head of the AIHW Labour Force and Rural Health Unit, Glenice
Taylor, said that the usage of occupational therapy services is
strongly related to age.
'Usage is highest among the youngest and oldest age groups,' she
said. 'Children aged 0-14 years were equally as likely as those
aged over 65 years to consult an occupational therapist-around 165
per 100,000 people in their respective age groups.
'Within the younger client age group there is a high proportion
with a developmental disability (93%), while older clients are more
likely to receive treatment for general rehabilitation (56%).
'As a result, far more occupational therapists worked in these
two clinical specialty fields than in any other, with slightly more
in the general rehabilitation field (24%), than in developmental
disability (22%).'
The report shows that occupational therapy seems to have become
a popular career choice, with a 59% increase in the number of
people completing undergraduate courses in this field at Australian
universities in the decade to 1999. There has also been a much
larger increase in the number of postgraduate completions, which
rose from 353 to 598 between 1989 and 1998.
'As medical knowledge and techniques advance, so will the number
of people surviving otherwise terminal accidents or illnesses,' Ms
Taylor said. 'Consequently, the need for occupational therapists is
expected to increase.'
21 September 2001
Further information: Glenice Taylor, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1153
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability.