Lived Experiences of Occupational Therapy Students From Under-Represented Backgrounds in Professional Educational Programs: A Scoping Review.

English-language studies only; the team had no resources to locate or translate non-English sources, limiting transferability to other regions. No methodological quality appraisal was conducted, consistent with scoping review convention but meaning the 24 included studies were not assessed for rigour. Included studies had small samples (median 13 participants), so findings describe individual experiences rather than population-level patterns. Most articles were located through citation searching (Connected Papers) rather than traditional database keyword searches, suggesting the literature on DEI in OT education may be under-indexed in standard databases. Some members of the review team did not identify as members of the diverse groups studied, which the authors acknowledge may have influenced interpretation. Most included studies examined a single identity group rather than intersecting identities, so the complexity of students who belong to multiple under-represented groups is under-explored. The authors note that 'under-represented' populations are diverse within themselves and that results should be treated as general guidelines rather than specific recommendations for any one group.

No funding was received. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The paper was previously published on Research Square.

Do not read the recommended strategies (same-background mentorship, holistic admissions, competency rework) as evidence that they improve inclusion. They are themes and student suggestions drawn from 24 small qualitative studies, not tested interventions, and no quality appraisal of the underlying studies was conducted. A program that adopts one of these strategies on the strength of this review would be acting on untested recommendations, not on demonstrated effect.