Knowledge, Perception and Use of Spirituality Among Nigerian Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Background: In Occupational Therapy (OT) practice, spirituality is seen as a crucial and fundamental part of a holistic approach. However, the extent of its inclusion in Nigerian practice is yet to be ascertained. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, perception and use of spirituality among Nigerian OT practitioners, as well as the barriers and facilitators to its integration in practice. Methods: Ninety-nine OT practitioners who were purposively recruited from the Occupational Therapists Association of Nigeria (OTAN) registers participated in this cross-sectional survey. The participant’s knowledge, perception and use of spirituality in practice was assessed using an adapted 47-item questionnaire on spirituality and spiritual care. Data was summarized using descriptive statistics of frequency, mean difference and standard deviation as well as inferential statistics of ANOVA and Pearson correlation. Results: The findings showed that 16 (16.2%) of the respondents had good knowledge about spirituality in practice. However, 83 (83.8%) had a good perception of spirituality while 40 (40.4%) had used spirituality in practice. Among the respondents that used spirituality in practice, 14 (23.7%) indicated that they experienced high facilitators to the use of spirituality. The results showed that 74 (74.9%) of the respondents experienced low to moderate barriers to the use of spirituality in practice. Also, it was found that respondents that were older experienced less significant barriers to the use of spirituality in practice (F=3.48; p=0.011). Similarly, respondents with higher levels of work experience experienced significantly lesser barriers to the use of spirituality in practice (F= 9.23; p= 0.001). Furthermore, the study found that use of spirituality in OT practice significantly increases as knowledge about spirituality (r= 0.41; p= 0.012) and perception of spirituality (r= 0.50; p=0.001) increases. Conclusion: Despite demonstrating moderate levels of knowledge and good perceptions of spirituality, less than half of Nigerian OT practitioners integrate spirituality into practice. The integration of spirituality was influenced by the presence of considerable facilitators and barriers. Younger age and fewer years of experience among the OT practitioners were associated with higher perceived barriers while use of spirituality in practice was strongly correlated with perceived facilitators.