Affiliations: [a] Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel
| [b] Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| [c] Research Institute for the Health & Medical Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat, Ono, Israel
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Orit Lahav, PhD, OT, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College. 104 Zahal St., Kiryat Ono 55000, Israel. Tel.: +972 3 5311888; E-mail: lahav.orit@gmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Engaging in higher education poses challenges for students facing the multiple demands of work, learning and personal life. Evidence for occupational therapy (OT) practice within learning support centers (LSC) in higher education is lacking. OBJECTIVES: 1) to examine areas of difficulties that students experience based upon age, gender, work and faculty; 2) to validate the Trinity Student Profile (TSP) in Israel. METHODS: The TSP contains 75 items that result in three factors: person, occupation and environment. It is reliable and valid in the Irish sample. It was translated into Hebrew with permission. Participants in the current study included 150 second-year college students. RESULTS: A significant difference within the person factor for age was found (p < 0.009). Significant interactions were found for person and occupation factors ranging from (p < 0.045 to 0.009) within different groups, and none for the environmental factor. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the importance of the person and occupation components of student concerns in the students’ experience. Further studies with the TSP and other measures in the field of OT should be conducted in different countries. OT within LSC would benefit from further use of the TSP such an instrument.
Keywords: Occupational therapy, learning difficulties, learning support center, students’ concerns
