Skip to content
Home >> Statistics >> Health Manpower Survey

Statistics

2011 Health Manpower Survey

Summary of the Characteristics of Occupational Therapists Enumerated

I.  Occupational Therapists Covered

1.1   The occupational therapists covered in the 2011 HMS were occupational therapists registered with the Occupational Therapists Board of Hong Kong under the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Chapter 359) as at the survey reference date - 31.3.2011 .

1.2   The number of occupational therapists covered was 1 39 5.

1.3   Of the 1 395 occupational therapists covered, 960 had responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 68.8%. Among the respondents, 882 were economically active*† (active) in the local occupational therapy profession as at 31.3.2011 and 78 reported to be economically inactive*‡ (inactive) in the local occupational therapy profession (Chart A) .

1.4   Of the 882 active occupational therapists enumerated, 876 were practising in the local occupational therapy profession, three were seeking jobs and three were starting business in the local occupational therapy at subsequent date or having temporary sickness during the 30 days before the survey. The survey results presented in paragraph 1.6 below were based on the 876 responding occupational therapists who were practising in the local occupational therapy profession as at 31.3.2011.  As some information was missing from certain questionnaires, percentages presented below may not add up to 100%.

1.5   Of the 78 inactive occupational therapists, 12 reported practising overseas, and 63 reported not seeking job in the local occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey (Chart A) . Among the 63 inactive occupational therapists who reported not seeking job, the main reasons reported for not seeking jobs included: 30 (47.6%) were working in other professions, 23 (36.5%) were engaged in household duties, four (6.3%) wanted to take rest / having no motive to work / having no financial need and three (4.8%) were retired, etc.

* In the survey, the criteria used in defining economically active / inactive followed those recommended by the International Labour Organization, which are also being used by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong.

† “Economically active” occupational therapists comprised all “employed” and “unemployed” occupational therapists.  “Employed” occupational therapists referred to those occupational therapists practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, while “unemployed” occupational therapists referred to those occupational therapists who (a) were not practising in the local occupational therapy profession during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey.

‡ “Economically inactive” occupational therapists comprised the occupational therapists who were not practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, excluding those who had been on leave during the survey period and who were “economically active” but “unemployed” .

Chart A : Activity Status of Occupational Therapists Covered

Text Version

Of the 1 395 occupational therapists covered, 960 (68.8%) had responded to the survey, while the remaining 435 (31.2%) had not responded. Among the respondents, 882 (91.9%) were active in the local occupational therapy profession as at 31.3.2011 whereas 78 (8.1%) reported to be inactive in the local occupational therapy profession. Among the 882 active occupational therapists, 876 (99.3%) were practising in the local occupational therapy profession, three (0.3%) (a) were not practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey, and the remaining three (0.3%) (a) were not practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) were starting business in the local occupational therapy profession at subsequent date or having temporary sickness during the 30 days before the survey. Of the 78 inactive occupational therapists, 63 (80.8%) reported not practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong and not seeking job in the local occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey, 12 (15.4%) reported practising overseas and the remaining three (3.8%) (a) were not practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had not been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey. Of the 63 inactive occupational therapists, 30 (47.6%) were working in other professions, 23 (36.5%) were engaged in household duties, four (6.3%) wanted to take rest/ having no motive to work/ having no financial need, three (4.8%) were retired and the remaining three (4.8%)* had other reasons for being inactive. Note: * Figure refers to the number of responding occupational therapists who reported emigrated or undertaking study. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

1.6   Six active occupational therapists did not indicate their sex.  Of the 870 active occupational therapists enumerated who were practising in the local occupational therapy profession, 259 (29.8%) were male and 611 (70.2%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 42.  Apart from 16 occupational therapists who did not indicate the age, the median age of the remaining 860 active occupational therapists enumerated was 36.0 years.  The median age of the active female occupational therapists enumerated was 35.0 years and that of their male counterparts was 38.0 years.

1.7   The responding active occupational therapists were requested to indicate the characteristics of their main jobs*.  Distribution of the main job by sector showed that about half (48.2%) of the active occupational therapists enumerated were working in the Hospital Authority, followed by those working in the subvented sector (33.6%), the private sector (8.6%), the academic sector (5.7%) and the Government (3.8% ) .

1.8   The median age of the active occupational therapists enumerated was 42.0 years for those working in the Government, followed by 37.0 years for those working in the Hospital Authority, 36.0 years in the academic sector, 33.0 years in the subvented sector and 32.0 years in the private sector.

1.9   Of the 876 active occupational therapists enumerated, 86.4% spent most of their working time on rehabilitation, followed by 8.8% on administration / management, 1.7% on primary health care†, 1.6% on teaching and 1.0% on research.


*  Main jobs referred to the jobs in which the occupational therapists had spent most of their working time.

†  Primary health care referred to the work such as health education, health promotion, etc. or the work involving patient care in the primary care setting.


1.10   The median number of hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 876 active occupational therapists enumerated was 44.0 hours.  Among them, 14 (1.6%) were required to undertake on-call duty (excluding normal duty), with a median of 3.5 hours of on-call duty (excluding normal duty) per week.

1.11 Of the 876 active occupational therapists enumerated, 66.8% held Bachelor’s Degree and 32.6% held Professional Diploma as their basic qualifications .

1.12 Of the 876 active occupational therapists enumerated, 689 (78.7%) received / were receiving additional training and 187 (21.3%) did not receive any additional training.  Of the 689 active occupational therapists with additional training, 20 (2.9%) had not yet completed the additional training, 477 (69.2%) held Master’s Degree, 115 (16.7%) held Certificate and 28 (4.1%) held Post-graduate Diploma as the highest qualification .

1.13   Of the 689 active occupational therapists who had received / were receiving additional training, 38.4% were trained in health care (occupational therapy / rehabilitation technology), 25.4% in rehabilitation sciences / studies, 15.6% in health care management / health services management, 6.4% in rehabilitation, 4.7% in counselling and 3.3% in gerontology.

1.14   Of the 689 active occupational therapists who had received / were receiving additional training, 582 (84.5%) were trained in one field of additional training.  Among them, 40.2% were trained in health care (occupational therapy / rehabilitation technology), 25.1% in rehabilitation sciences / studies, 14.8% in health care management / health services management, 7.2% in rehabilitation, 5.3% in counselling and 4.1% in gerontology.

1.15   Regarding Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities, 715 (81.6%) of the active occupational therapists revealed that they had participated in CPD activities in 2011, 135 (15.4%) did not participate in any CPD activities and 26 (3.0%) did not reveal whether they had participated in CPD activities or not.  Among the 715 active occupational therapists enumerated who had participated in CPD activities, the distribution of CPD credits attained in the past 12 months was: 1 to 10 credits (29.9%), 11 to 20 credits (35.4%), 21 to 30 credits (17.8%), 31 to 40 credits (6.3%) and more than 40 credits (10.6%).

II.  Trend Analysis

2.1   Comparison of findings of the 2011 HMS with those surveys before 2004 should be cautious as the survey methodology and reference date had been changed.

2.2 With the enactment of the Occupational Therapists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) Regulations (Chapter 359B), registration of the profession of occupational therapists commenced on 1 October 1990 while disciplinary control of the profession was effective on 1 August 1991, it is mandatory for a person practising occupational therapy in Hong Kong to hold a valid practising certificate.  Between 1992 and 2011, the number of occupational therapists increased from 470 to 1 395 (Chart B) .

Chart B: Number of Occupational Therapists Covered by Year (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2005 , 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011)

Text Version

In the 1992 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 470. In the 1996 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 674. In the 2000 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 774. In the 2004 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 1 056. In the 2005 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 1 120. In the 2006 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 1 168. In the 2007 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 1 213. In the 2008 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 1 255. In the 2011 Health Manpower Survey, the number of occupational therapists covered was 1 395. Note: Figures of the year 2000 and before refer to the number of occupational therapists registered with the Occupational Therapists Board of Hong Kong as at the 1st of July of the respective years, whereas the figures of 2004 to 2011 refer to that as at the 31st of March of the respective years.

2.3 Since 1982, the sex ratio (males per 100 females) of active occupational therapists enumerated has been fluctuating in the range between 39 and 58.  The sex ratio (males per 100 females) was maintained at a range of 40 and 43 in recent years (Table A) .

2.4   T he mean age of the active occupational therapists enumerated increased gradually from 28.2 years in 1982 to 36.7 years in 2011 .

2.5 From 1982 to 1990, the largest proportion of active occupational therapists enumerated was working in the Government, followed by the academic and subvented sectors, which together employed more than 80% of all the occupational therapists.  The Hospital Authority has been the largest employer since its setup in 1991, while the proportion of active occupational therapists employed in the Government decreased to less than 5%.  The proportion working in the academic and subvented sectors increased from 16.5% in 1982 to 39.3% in 2011 (Table A) .

Table A : Selected Characteristics of Active Occupational Therapists Enumerated (1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011)

Text Version

Department of Health
The Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
February 2012

11 Jan 2013