About occupational therapy
It is a healthcare discipline that aims to enable people to engage in activities by enhancing their abilities and opportunities or by modifying their environments. Occupational therapy provides a wide range of interventions that address cognitive, emotional and social needs, facilitating patients’ reintegration into society and enhancing their independence and quality of life.
History of Occupational Therapy in Kuwait
The profession of occupational therapy is relatively new in Kuwait. It began in the early eighties in the Hospital of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. At its inception, occupational therapy practices were limited to the paediatric field, with two international occupational therapists catering to the needs of this group of patients. By the mid-eighties, the Ministry of Health in Kuwait had hired additional international occupational therapists to expand occupational therapy services to serve different groups of patients, especially patients with physical disabilities. In 1988, through a collaboration between Kuwait University (i.e. Kuwait University Health Sciences Center) and the Ministry of Health in Kuwait, the great need for occupational therapy services in Kuwait was recognized. Therefore, Professor Farida Al Awadhi, then Dean of the College of Allied Medical Sciences, played a major and decisive role in establishing the Department of Occupational Therapy within the college. At the time, Professor Farida Al Awadhi invited two prominent professors of occupational therapy to assess the need for occupational therapy and develop a vision for its establishment within the college. After the Gulf War in 1990, Professor Farida Al-Awadhi’s dream came true when the Ministry of Higher Education in Kuwait awarded a scholarship to the first four Kuwaiti occupational therapists to pursue their studies for a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy in the USA. At the same time, the Ministry of Health has progressively continued to recruit international occupational therapists to work at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital, especially in the areas of pediatrics and physical disability.
Expansion of occupational therapy services in Kuwait
As occupational therapy services in Kuwait became more entrenched, more international occupational therapists were hired. In the mid-nineties, the department faced a significant shortage of staff. In addition, there were a large number of patients on the waiting lists. To cope with this shortage, there has been a growing demand for occupational therapy services across the country. Hence, there was an urgent need to meet these demands by expanding occupational therapy services across Kuwait. As a result, there was an urgent need to hire a large number of occupational therapists to provide a variety of services in Kuwait.
In 1998, four Kuwaiti occupational therapists who graduated from the United States of America joined the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ms. Amal Al-Maghrabi was the then head of the department and the first supervisor of the occupational therapy department in Kuwait. Mrs. Amal was a pioneer in this profession and contributed significantly to the development and expansion of occupational therapy services and their provision throughout Kuwait.
In 1996, Dalhousie University and Kuwait’s Ministry of Health signed a contract, whereby an integrated professional qualification team trained a variety of healthcare professionals, including occupational therapists. The aim was to improve the level of rehabilitative care in Kuwait. At that time, occupational therapy services expanded and occupational therapists were trained in different practice areas including pediatric therapy, dysphagia, hand therapy, neurorehabilitation, rheumatism, burns, and sitting clinics. This training has contributed significantly to improving the quality of occupational therapy services in these areas. The number of occupational therapists began to gradually grow and expand their services in various clinics in addition to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital with the full support and guidance of the Head of the Occupational Therapy Department, Mrs. Amal Al-Maghrabi. For example, occupational therapists started working at Al Razi Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital, and Al Babtain Burn and Plastic Surgery Center.
In the early 2000s of the twenty-first century
Kuwait University has offered higher education scholarships to four occupational therapists to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in occupational therapy with the aim of opening the Occupational Therapy Education Program as an independent and self-centered department within the College of Allied Medical Sciences at Kuwait University Health Sciences Center. In 2006, two Occupational Therapy faculty members graduated from the United States, and began working the establishment of an occupational therapy curriculum, Dr. Muhammad Nazar and Dr. Musaed Al-Nasser. In 2008, Dr. Nasser Al-Otaibi joined the faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy and contributed significantly to the development of the Occupational Therapy curriculum. In 2009, after the joint efforts of the faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy and the support of the Deanship of the University and the administration of Kuwait University, the establishment of the Education Program in Occupational Therapy was officially approved, and the first batch of occupational therapy students began in September 2009.
Thus, the department began teaching the first batch with only four faculty members, namely Dr. Muhammad Nazar, Dr. Musaed Al-Nasser, Dr. Nasser Alotaibi. and Dr. Fahad Al Mana, who worked hard and continuously to ensure quality education and support students as well as enhance the education program in occupational therapy within the college. It is worth mentioning that the Education in Occupational Therapy Program at Kuwait University has obtained and maintained its international accreditation from the World Federation of Occupational Therapists as a recognized and distinguished educational program in the field of occupational therapy.
As of September 2024
Twelve batches graduated from the Department of Occupational Therapy, where graduates currently work in various rehabilitation and public hospitals, specialized health centers, and private clinics. It is estimated that there are currently about 230 occupational therapists working in thirteen hospitals/facilities, providing occupational therapy services in various fields such as the pediatric department, Hand injuries neurological department. Mental health. Swallowing difficulties, wheelchair clinic, driving rehabilitation and others. Moreover, the number of occupational therapists continues to grow with more of them graduating annually from the Department of Occupational Therapy at Kuwait University.
Currently, there are eight faculty members studying in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Kuwait University, and more faculty members are expected to join the department in the future. Finally, as the occupational therapy profession continues to grow and flourish in Kuwait, the Department of Occupational Therapy has received official approval to start the Master of Occupational Therapy program as of September 2024.
Workplaces
- Jahra Hospital
- Jaber Al Ahmad Hospital
- Farwaniya Hospital
- Adan Hospital
- Mubarak Al , Kabeer Hospital
- Amiri Hospital
- Ibn Sina Hospital
- Al Razi Hospital
- Developmental Medicine Unit (Al Sabah Hospital)
- Physical Medicine and Health Rehabilitation Hospital
- Kuwait Cancer Control Center
- Maternity Hospital
- Kuwait Center for Mental Health