Return to Work for People with Long Term Disability through Occupational Therapy Services in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Mixed Methods

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Return to work for people with long term disability through occupational therapy services in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: mixed methods
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction- Occupational therapy refers to the discipline of science that provides
assistance to people across their lifespan, with the intention of supporting them to accomplish
the things they want to. Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are entitled with the role of
enabling people belonging to different ages to live a purposeful and meaningful life, by
facilitating them enhance their health, and prevent the deterioration of health status due to
any illness, injury, or disability (Schell et al. 2013). Occupational therapy consultants have
been found to hold a holistic perspective that places due focus on bringing about an
adaptation in the environment and therapy, in order to meet the requirements of the person.
Some of the most common OT based interventions encompass facilitating children affected
with certain disabilities to completely participate in social and school related activities
(American Occupational Therapy Association 2015). OT also provides help to adults for
injury rehabilitation, besides supporting older adults who commonly report experiences of
cognitive and major physical changes. The assignment focuses on a research proposal that
aims to explore the effectiveness of occupational therapy on functional disability.
Research question- The research question for the proposal is as follows:
What are the provided services for people with long-term disability to return to work in
Saudi Arabia?
Research aim and objectives- The objectives of the proposal are given below:
 Explore the existing services for people suffering from long-term incapacity to return
to their work in Saudi Arabia
 Investigate the apparent context of healthcare where the occupational therapists
function
 Discover the services that are provided to disabled patients residing
 Gain a deeper understanding of awareness of OT services

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
 Obtain an insight into the experiences of occupational therapists and their role in
facilitating return to work.
 Search the government and private employment system for people suffering with
disabilities.
Literature review- Restoring the capability to work has been identified as a crucial
element in rehabilitating adult patients who are aged above 18 years of age. The major
objective of occupational therapy in the form of a rehabilitative program is related to enabling
the participants to undertake the activities of daily living, counting their skill to work.
Cancelliere et al. (2016) elaborated on the fact that work related disability acts as a chief
financial, public, and personal health burden. While the authors identified musculoskeletal
disorders as an important factor that leads to functional disability due to pain in the neck and
lower back, stroke, cardiovascular complications, and multiple sclerosis were also recognized
as factors that contributed to functional disability. Al-Jadid (2013) elaborated on the fact that
although disability is one of the most overbearing community and economic medical
problems in the KSA, there exists lack of adequate studies that draw a comparison with
developed countries, in relation to prevalence and incidence of disability and its socio-
demographic properties. An estimated 3.73% of the Saudi Arabian population was found to
suffer from functional disabilities, thus restricting their independence. Spinal cord injuries,
cerebral palsy, stroke, road traffic accidents, inflammation and infection were identified as
the major factors that lead to functional disability among people residing in the KSA.
Parallel to this study, another article reported on the scarcity of data on the incidence and
prevalence of disability and impairment, besides their socio-demographic characteristics of
the individuals. The findings reported that occurrence of physical disability (1.7%) was
greater than mental retardation (1.4%). Further information presented in the article states that
legislation and the policies have reinforced the identical rights of people with disabilities,

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
nonetheless unsuccessful implementation of these rulings has resulted in a gap between the
envisioned purposes and the real provision of facilities. Besides, the health services present in
Saudi Arabia are primarily controlled by the Ministry of Health. An estimated 415 hospitals
were present in Saudi Arabia in 2011, with approximate 58,696 beds (Al-Jadid 2014).
According to Attar (2014) musculoskeletal complaints were identified as an essential
occupational problem in Saudi Arabia. Upon conducting a comparative cross-sectional study
on registered nurses, the findings suggested that 85% nursing staff reported musculoskeletal
problems that most commonly affected their lower back (65.7%), shoulders (29%) and the
feet and ankles (41.5%). Thus, the research results elaborated on the fact that lengthy
working hours and underweight were features that mostly contributed to functional
disabilities among Saudi Arabian nurses.
Robert and Zamzami (2014) conducted a study where they indicated that the occurrence
and prevalence of stroke in Saudi Arabia were less, in comparison to western countries,
which in turn was accredited to the domination of the young age individuals in the region.
The researchers identified stroke as the chief reason that contributes to functional disability
among the individuals. Another study was successful in providing a brief overview in relation
to the existing policies present in Saudi Arabia that guaranteed students suffering from
disabilities the right to procure public education (Alquraini 2013). Abdur Rahman et al.
(2013) presented a communicating multimedia environment that could be effectively put to
implementation, with the aim of complementing the role therapists in rehabilitation for
disabled children in Saudi Arabia. They used Microsoft Kinect 3D dependent depth sensing
camera, in association with online Second Life virtual world for recording rehabilitation
exercises that a disabled child could perform, even without the assistance of any therapist, for
conducting daily activities.