Investing in the Future: Integrating Lived Experience Perspectives in Mental Health Curriculum Design and Evaluation in Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Education

Abstract

Occupational therapy education accreditation standards require lived experience involvement in curriculum design, delivery and evaluation, and alignment with contemporary policy and practice. Current mental health policy emphasises recovery and lived experience involvement in services, policy, research and education. Lived experience involvement in education requires significant investment, but there is limited evidence, and the added value for consumers’ recovery remains unclear. The aim of this research was to explore how lived experience involvement might add value to curriculum design and evaluation in occupational therapy education. A two phase participatory exploratory mixed methods design was employed. First mental health consumers’ curriculum priorities and preferred modes of involvement in occupational therapy education were explored through an eDelphi (n=28) and qualitative interviews (n=16). Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. Building on this, an outcome measure was developed through an iterative process of pilot testing with students and content validity evaluation using a content validity index. The researchers partnered with a Lived Experience Expert Reference Group whose views were privileged throughout the research. A core capability framework comprising knowing, doing and being/becoming was developed through the eDelphi and qualitative interviews. Consumers desired active and influential roles in all stages of the curriculum. An outcome measure reflecting the core capabilities and curriculum priorities was developed, was acceptable to students in pilot testing and had satisfactory content validity (S-CVI=0.9). The Lived Experience Expert Reference Group model reflected good practice principles. The core capabilities offer a lived experience informed approach to curriculum design, address important gaps in occupational therapists’ priorities and contribute to curricula that integrate professional and lived experience knowledge. The outcome measure has potential to evaluate learning and promote curriculum coherence, deepening students’ learning about capabilities to support recovery. University investment in mental health lived experience involvement is warranted and adds value for students, educators, employers and consumers.