The project team defined the areas of interest for the survey in several meetings between November 2018 and November 2019. These areas included sociodemographic characteristics of the workforce, regional distribution, areas of work, levels of professional education, levels of full-time or part-time work, sources of funding, turnover rates, number of open positions, common difficulties when hiring personnel, and satisfaction with opportunities for further professional education. Due to the nature of some of the questions and the fact that not all occupational therapists (OTs) are affiliated with the professional association (ErgotherapeutInnen-Verband Schweiz, 2022), especially in the institutional sector, it was decided that the survey would be best directed towards employers and team leaders, as well as self-employed OTs. In this way, it was expected that the maximum number of OTs could be reached.
Based on these areas of interest, we drafted a questionnaire in German. Questions were partially based on other questionnaires that had been used for surveys among health professionals (Bundesamt für Statistik, 2018; Nast, I. et al., 2017; Peter, K. A. et al., 2017). Following feedback and discussion within the project group, the questionnaire was finalised and translated into French and Italian by a professional translator. We then created an online version of the questionnaire using the online survey platform Unipark aka Enterprise Feedback Suite (Tivian XI GmbH, 2021). The platform allows for the creation and testing of surveys and provides an online link where it can be accessed. A data centre situated in Germany hosts the platform, which is certified by the German Federal Cyber Security Authority BSI, and compliant with the ISO 27001 data safety and protection regulations (Tivian XI GmbH, 2022). The platform does not allow for the survey to be filled out multiple times from the same IP address unless cookies were erased. All language versions of the online questionnaire were tested by multiple OTs from different work and regional backgrounds. We then integrated the test persons’ feedback into the finished version of the online survey.
In October 2021, we sent out the link to the online questionnaire over multiple pathways, with an invitation to complete it. Self-employed OTs and owners of private practices, who are almost all members of the Swiss professional association, were contacted directly by the EVS/ASE via e-mail (n=1’310). Contact information from other institutions where OTs possibly work was collected by members of the project team based on publicly available information. This mainly included medical institutions, but also schools, insurance companies, public administration, NGOs, and universities. These institutions were also contacted via e-mail. After three weeks, a reminder e-mail was sent out. To further increase participation, medical institutions were contacted by telephone in early 2022, leading to the exclusion of some who stated that they did not employ OTs. In the end, 216 medical institutions remained who potentially employed OTs. We closed the survey in April 2022 and extracted the data.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to collect data on OTs working in long-term care institutions. The reason for this was that the research team, in spite of repeated efforts (i.e., telephone and e-mail contact with stakeholders and representatives on national and cantonal levels), was not able to secure the cooperation of key gatekeepers in this area.
Ballmer, T., Kühne, N., Petrig, A., Eggenberger, B., & Gantschnig, B. (2023). The Size and Structure of the Swiss Occupational Therapy Workforce. A Survey Study. [Manuscript Submitted for Publication].
Bundesamt für Statistik. (2018). Erhebung bei den Hochschulabsolventinnen und Hochschulabsolventen 2016. Bundesamt für Statistik.
ErgotherapeutInnen-Verband Schweiz. (2022). Mitgliederstatistik 2021. ErgotherapeutInnen-Verband Schweiz,.
Nast, I., Scheermesser, M., Allet, L., Gafner, S., Wirz, M., Hilfiker, R., & Schämann, A.(2017). Fragebogen “Forschungsthemen zur Unterstützung derBerufspolitik”. ZHAW Departement Gesundheit.
Peter, K. A., Gurtner, A., Kunz, S., Voirol, C., & Hahn, S. (2017). STRAIN Fragebogen zur Erfassung betrieblicher Kennzahlen in Schweizer Gesundheitsorganisationen (Version Akutspitäler/Rehabilitationskliniken, Psychiatrien, Alters- und Pflegeheime, Spitex Organisationen). Berner Fachhochschule.
Tivian XI GmbH. (2021). EFS Survey, Fall 2021 Version. Tivian XI GmbH. www.unipark.com
Tivian XI GmbH. (2022). FAQ - Privacy. Www.My.Unipark.Com/Faq. www.my.unipark.com/faq
