Affiliations: Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and
Rehabilitation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Professor Jenny Strong, Division of
Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University
of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. Tel.: +61 64 7 3365 2096; Fax:
+61 64 7 3365 1622; E-mail: j.strong@uq.edu.au
Abstract: Objective: This study examined the methods and frequency of
professional supervision in Queensland's work rehabilitation sector.
Professional supervision is regarded as an important aspect of professional
development and hence, critical to the improvement of services delivered by
practitioners. However, there is little documented on the extent of supervision
of practitioners in this setting and even less on the impact and effectiveness
of supervision. Participants: Eighty-two (82) work rehabilitation
professionals participated in the study. Methods: The majority of
participants (76) responded to a web-based survey that had been sent to them by
a web-link, and 6 completed a paper based survey version of the survey, which
evaluated the extent, practice methods, and barriers to the delivery and
receipt of supervision. A follow-up focus group was held with key opinion
holders to examine possible barriers to supervision in the industry. Results: 59% of the participants had not received any form of supervision
in the past two years. Those who received or delivered supervision reported it
to be a valuable practice. The follow-up focus group identified barriers to
supervision as being pressures of commercial targets, lack of exposure to work
rehabilitation in university curricula, high staff turn-over, relative
inexperience of case managers and purchasers dictating product outcomes. Conclusions: The development of industry standards for supervision practice is
recommended to overcome the barriers to supervision.
Keywords: Supervision practices, work rehabilitation, Queensland
