| Recreational therapists have worked to increase their status as a profession, recognition, and image for several decades. However, the extent to which they had achieved acceptance among other allied health professionals was unknown. Therefore, the present study measured allied health professionals' beliefs about recreational therapy using the concept of occupational prejudice as the underlying framework.;This study sought to determine if allied health professionals express prejudice toward recreational therapy, and if prejudice existed to identify the variables explaining this belief. An instrument was developed based on the prejudice literature and through the use of a focus group of recreational therapists. The questionnaire was distributed at seven allied health conferences in the Southeast. A total of 369 allied health professionals completed the questionnaire, mainly from the disciplines of recreational therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and nursing.;A one-way analysis of variance revealed that occupational prejudice toward recreational therapy existed in each of the three disciplines with the greatest prejudice expressed by physical therapy, followed by occupational therapy and nursing. Regression analyses were conducted for each of the disciplines, including recreational therapy, separately in an effort to explain the prejudice. The variables that explained variance in occupational prejudice for occupational therapists were knowledge of education and training and salary, wherein the higher amount of knowledge and higher salary decreased the amount of prejudice. Knowledge of education and training explained variance in prejudice for nurses as well, with contact also explaining variance rather than salary. As with the occupational therapists, both relationships were positive. There were not any variables that explained the occupational prejudice that physical therapy expressed. Therefore, regression analyses for each of the disciplines did not show any consistency in the explanations of prejudice toward recreational therapy across the groups.;These findings suggest that recreational therapists need to be made aware of the prejudice that existed. A first attempt to eliminate the prejudice may be through informing other allied health professionals about recreational education and training, since it was the only variable that was significant across at least two groups. Further studies should determine if the prejudice expressed leads to discrimination toward recreational therapists or decline in team functioning and patient care. The answers to these questions can help guide recreational therapists' future efforts to increase their acceptance among their peers. |
