Exploring Occupational Therapy in Hong Kong and Taiwan
September 27, 2015

The China Initiative delegation met with experienced occupational therapy (OT) colleagues from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) and National Taiwan University (NTU) to gain an historical perspective and explore the landscape of OT practice and education in Asia and, specifically, Mainland China.

Colleagues from HKPU expressed that the awareness of the need for rehabilitation services in China increased since the Sichuan Earthquake in 2011, the establishment of the Deyang Rehabilitation Center (DRC) visited by the ex-president Jintao Hu, and the Yunnan Earthquake in 2013. However, occupational therapy has historically been taught under rehabilitation therapy in China and it is not yet established as its own discipline and profession.

Colleagues from NTU provided an overview of the history of occupational therapy in China, the educational programs and standards, career prospects and the qualifications of clinicians and faculty, as well as the needs and opportunities for the future of occupational therapy in China. OT faculty from NTU and OT practitioners from the community, together with the China Initiative team, also brainstormed ways to make a significant and sustainable impact for the education and practice of OT in China.

At the end of this trip, the China Initiative is beginning to form an idea of what the partnership may involve, which may be collaborating on the establishment of a graduate program in occupational therapy in China, with the possibility of USC conferring a clinical doctorate degree. The team further agreed that it would be important to establish occupational therapy as its own academic degree and professional field in China.

Delegation
USC Chan Division faculty members Florence Clark, Julie McLaughlin Gray, Adley Chan and Linda Liang, China Initiative consultant Jin-Shei Lai and China Initiative OTD residents Chia-Hsin Liu and Victoria Wong.

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