Statistics

2014 Health Manpower Survey

Summary of the Characteristics of Occupational Therapists Enumerated

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I. Occupational Therapists Covered

1.1  The occupational therapists covered in the 2014 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 - 31.3.2014.

1.2  The number of occupational therapists covered was 1 608.

1.3  Of the 1 608 occupational therapists covered, 925 had responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 57.5%. Among the respondents, 865 (93.5%) were economically active*† (active) in the local occupational therapy profession as at 31.3.2014 and 60 (6.5%) reported to be economically inactive*‡ (inactive) in the local occupational therapy profession (Chart A) .

1.4  Of the 865 active occupational therapists, 859 (99.3%) were practising in the local occupational therapy profession, two (0.2%) were seeking jobs and four (0.5%) were waiting to take up a new job in the local occupational therapy profession or having temporary sickness during the 30 days before the survey. The survey results presented in paragraph 1.6 below were based on the 859 responding occupational therapists who were practising in the local occupational therapy profession as at 31.3.2014. As certain questionnaires contained missing information, percentages presented below may not add up to 100%.

1.5  Of the 60 inactive occupational therapists, ten occupational therapists reported practising overseas, seven reported practising in the Mainland, 42 occupational therapists reported not seeking jobs in the local occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey (Chart A) . Among the 42 inactive occupational therapists who reported not seeking jobs in the local occupational therapy profession, the main reasons included: 24 (57.1%) were working in other professions, 11 (26.2%) were engaged in household duties, and three (7.1%) 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 local occupational therapy profession during the 30 days before the survey.

‡   "Economically inactive" occupational therapists comprised the occupational therapists who was not practising in the occupational therapy profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, but 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

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1.6   Two occupational therapists did not indicate gender. Among the remaining 857 active occupational therapists enumerated, 264 (30.8%) were male and 593 (69.2%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 45. Apart from 14 occupational therapists who did not indicate age, the median age of the remaining 845 active occupational therapists enumerated was 36.0 years. The median age of the active female occupational therapists enumerated was 36.0 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 (49.8%) of the active occupational therapists enumerated were working in the Hospital Authority, followed by those working in the subvented sector (32.0%), the private sector (10.5%), in the academic sector (4.9%) and the Government (2.8%).

1.8   The median age of the active occupational therapists enumerated was 45.0 years for those working in the Government, followed by 39.0 years for those working in the academic sector, 37.0 years in the Hospital Authority, 36.0 years in the private sector and 35.0 years in the subvented sector.

1.9   Of the 859 active occupational therapists enumerated, 85.7% spent most of their working time on rehabilitation, followed by 7.3% on administration / management, 2.8% on teaching, 2.7% on primary health care† and 0.8% on research.

1.10   The median number of hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 859 active occupational therapists enumerated was 44.0 hours. Among them, 25 (2.9%) were required to undertake on-call duty (excluding normal duty), with a median of 7.0 hours of on-call duty (excluding normal duty) per week.

1.11   Of the 859 active occupational therapists enumerated, 68.8% held Bachelor’s Degree and 27.7% held Professional Diploma as their basic qualifications.

1.12   Of the 859 active occupational therapists enumerated, 676 (78.7%) received / were receiving additional training. Of the 676 active occupational therapists with additional training, 25 (3.7%) had not yet completed the additional training, 500 (74.0%) held Master’s Degree, 85 (12.6%) held Certificate and 22 (3.3%) held Doctoral Degree as the highest qualification.

*  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.

1.13  Among those active occupational therapists who received / were receiving additional training, some of them selected more than one field of additional training. The total number of count of active occupational therapists who received / were receiving additional training was 800, in which 34.3% were trained / receiving in health care (occupational therapy / rehabilitation technology), 27.5% in rehabilitation sciences / studies, 17.6% in health care management / health services management, 7.8% in rehabilitation, 4.6% in counselling and 1.8% in gerontology.

1.14   Of the 676 active occupational therapists who received / were receiving additional training, 556 (82.2%) were trained / receiving training in one field. Among them, 34.2% were trained / receiving additional training in health care (occupational therapy / rehabilitation technology), 27.0% in rehabilitation sciences / studies, 16.5% in health care management / health services management, 9.0% in rehabilitation, 6.3% in counselling and 2.2% in gerontology.

1.15   Regarding Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities, 696 (81.0%) of the active occupational therapists reported that they had participated in CPD activities in 2014, 147 (17.1%) had not participated in any CPD activities and 16 (1.9%) did not report whether they had participated in any CPD activities or not. Among the 696 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 (26.7%), 11 to 20 credits (37.5%), 21 to 30 credits (18.4%), 31 to 40 credits (6.2%) and more than 40 credits (11.2%).

II.   Trend Analysis

2.1   Comparison of findings of the 2014 HMS with those surveys before 2004 should be made with caution 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 2014, the number of occupational therapists increased from 470 to 1 608 (Chart B) .

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 45 in recent years (Table A) .

Chart B :   Number of Occupational Therapists Covered by Year (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014)

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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 2014 refer to that as at the 31st of March of the respective years.

2.4   The mean age of the active occupational therapists enumerated increased gradually from 28.2 years in 1982 to 37.8 years in 2014.

2.5   From 1982 to 1990, the largest proportion of active occupational therapists enumerated worked in the Government, followed by the academic and subvented sectors, which together employed more than 80% of all the occupational therapists. The Hospital Authority had 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%. On the other hand, the proportion working in the academic and subvented sectors increased from 16.5% in 1982 to 36.9% in 2014.

Table A : Selected Characteristics of Active Occupational Therapists Enumerated (1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014)

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