Increasing Awareness of Occupational Therapy for College Students at Dominican University of California
Authors:   , Ng Joshua James , Efstathiu Connor , Nakashima Audrey , Sarasua Rylee , Szoboszlay Katie 
Published: January 2025

Background: This project is the third iteration of the Occupational Therapy (OT) college student program at Dominican University of California aiming to promote OT Coaching services for students while enhancing occupational engagement in daily activities, and overall well-being. Occupational therapists play a distinctive role in postsecondary education (AOTA, 2013).The second iteration of the OT college student program (2022–2023) prioritized collaboration with the school’s Student Success Center (SSC) and on-campus Integrative Coaches (ICs) who played a pivotal role in streamlining client referrals and enhancing the program outcomes. During their time with the program, this group was able to flagship a program that was uniquely tailored for Dominican students that had a 100% client retention rate across semesters, and were able to foster a lasting connection with the SSC. However, they found that there is a consistent lack of awareness about OT coaching and knowledge about the service on campus. They identified that in future iterations of the program the focus should be not only on the delivery of services for students but also the marketing, promotion, and awareness of the program as a whole. They recommended to continue and refine/formalize the referral process from IC’s, maintain the valued relationship with the SSC, and to offer a wider range of availability so students can access an OT coach within a broader time frame.

Methods: In the fall of 2023, the current group took over this project to focus on (1) addressing the needs of college students, and (2) promote OT coaching at Dominican University of California. We completed a literature review on the prevalence of OT services working in post-secondary settings. Using this knowledge, we conducted a needs assessment and discovered that there is a lack of knowledge and awareness about what OT is and what it can offer for the various needs of college students. We found through our needs assessment that the occupational needs of college students include stress management, organization, time management, study habits, sleep, lifestyle balance, social life, and community engagement. To address the needs of college students, we continued to meet with students for 1:1 coaching sessions and collaborate with ICs. Evaluation of this was carried out through use of surveys at the end of each semester, and interviews with students who used the service, and ICs who referred students to OT Coaching. To explore increasing visibility of this program, we have participated in on-campus events such as the Marin Food Bank, visiting classes to speak about OT, and attend weekly integrative coaching meetings to discuss the role of OT and give insight into students' needs. We have created an OT coaching website for students and faculty to learn about our services and set up appointments for 1-on-1 coaching. Evaluation of our promotion was accomplished through surveys and interviews. The outcome measures used for feedback includes google forms, interviews with previous clients and integrative coaches, number of student referrals, and insights from DU OT Coaching website.

Results: We met with fifteen students on campus weekly, composed of both undergraduate and graduate level students, to work towards their goals. This includes evaluating their overall well-being and giving the students tools and strategies to navigate their occupational needs. Referring to addressing the needs of college students, key results from interviews and google forms show that students were satisfied with their experience, felt they made significant progress toward their goals, and were interested in continuing OT Coaching the following semester. In terms of increasing visibility, we found that tabling events and classroom talks did not directly yield new referrals, and all clients were connected to OT Coaching through referral from ICs. Further exploration of effective promotional methods is needed, with suggestions for campus fliers, and social media use.

Conclusion: This project aimed to expand awareness of and integrate OT into campus services, focusing on students' occupational needs, while addressing their needs through 1-on-1 coaching. The implementation of the program itself surfaced multiple findings that support the positive impact and value of OT coaching at Dominican University of California.