Systemic Racism in Canadian Occupational Therapy: A Qualitative Study with Therapists.
Brenda L Beagan, Kaitlin R Sibbald, Stephanie R Bizzeth and 1 others
PMID 34986041WHAT IT FOUND
Ten racialized occupational therapists in Canada described racism from clients, colleagues, and managers.
They faced social exclusion, client refusals, accent comments, extra hidden work, and few racialized leaders. They also described emotional harm and daily coping.
Key findings
01Racialized occupational therapists experienced interpersonal racism from clients, colleagues, and managers, including comments about accent or origin.
02Institutional racism appeared as an absence of racialized leadership and management nonresponse to client racism.
03Structural racism undermined participants' authority and was linked to culturally normative assessments and theories.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 10 occupational therapists were analysed, all women, and the sample included several different racialized groups, so the findings may not capture differences between groups. Indigenous therapists were not included in this analysis. The researchers did not use member checking, so participants did not review the interpretations. Demographic details were kept vague to reduce identifiability, which may gloss over important differences. Recruitment stopped when the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed health professionals.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, grant number PJT-15964.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as a problem that racialized therapists can fix through self-care alone. The participants described racism embedded in hiring, management responses, leadership absence, and professional norms, so change requires institutional action and allyship from white therapists.