Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Education
Date Submitted: Mar 23, 2026
Date Accepted: Sep 9, 2026
Communication Education in Pre- and Post-licensure Occupational Therapy: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Effective communication and therapeutic relationships are essential to high-quality occupational therapy practice, as is interprofessional collaboration. However, communication education across pre- and post-licensure occupational therapy training has not been comprehensively mapped.
Objective:
To map the content, delivery methods, and evaluated outcomes of communication education in pre- and post-licensure occupational therapy education and identify research gaps.
Methods:
his scoping review was conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute guidance and reported in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL Plus with Full Text, and Ichushi-Web were searched, and reference lists were manually reviewed. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts. Data were charted on study characteristics, educational content, delivery methods, and outcomes, which were categorized using the Kirkpatrick model.
Results:
Of 5,534 identified records, 28 studies met inclusion criteria. Most targeted occupational therapy students, frequently within interprofessional education. Educational content included (1) interprofessional education and teamwork, (2) Disease-specific communication education (e.g., cancer, aphasia, dementia), (3) general communication skills, and (4) Theory-based communication education (e.g., motivational interviewing, medical improv). Outcomes primarily involved self-reported self-efficacy, communication skills, and knowledge. Behavioral outcomes were rarely assessed, and no studies examined client-level outcomes.
Conclusions:
Communication education research in occupational therapy primarily focuses on pre-licensure training and subjective outcomes. Evidence on post-licensure education and associations with objective communication behaviors, therapeutic relationships, and client outcomes remains limited. Future research should develop and evaluate occupational therapy–specific communication education across the training continuum using multimethod, outcome-focused approaches.
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