Introduction: Burnout, a chronic response to prolonged work stress, leads to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced professional efficacy. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated burnout, especially among frontline healthcare workers, including occupational therapists (OTs).
Objectives: The World Federation of Occupational Therapy highlights that job satisfaction, diversity, and removing career barriers are key to strengthening the occupational therapy workforce. This scoping review explored burnout among OTs from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in the United States, aiming to review the literature on burnout experiences, identify terminology used, and highlight gaps in the literature.
Methods: Four databases were searched, yielding 279 articles, of which 48 were selected for full review after screening. Articles included were in English, focused on burnout among OTs in the United States, and included race or ethnicity were examined following PRISMA guidelines.
Results: One study met the inclusion criteria. The qualitative study explored the perceptions of eight U.S. women of color in occupational therapy leadership and found that intersecting social identities significantly shaped their journeys, marked by both perseverance and burnout. Key themes included access to opportunities, mentorship, sponsorship, and inclusion.
Conclusion / Significance to OT: Addressing occupational stress amongst racially diverse populations is a way to reduce burnout and strengthen the occupational therapy workforce. The study highlights challenges, emphasizing the need to address occupational stress and burnout. It calls for workforce contexts to focus on support for OTs of diverse backgrounds, in order to reduce occupational stress and burnout in order to promote occupational balance in diverse populations.