The lived experiences of Black occupational therapy students at a UK university

Purpose: Only 4% of occupational therapists in the UK are Black. There is a scarcity of literature that engages with, or interrogates, issues of racism, coloniality, power imbalances and privilege within the field of occupational therapy. Very little is known about the experiences of occupational therapy students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds in the United Kingdom (UK). This study aims to explore the experiences of Black students enrolled in pre-registration occupational therapy programmes at a university in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative phenomenological study design was used for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from seven Black occupational therapy students who were selected using purposive sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings: Four themes were generated from the experiences of Black occupational therapy students in this study. The themes are as follows: bitter-sweet experiences; harsh realities on placement; the need for intentionality when planning and delivering the course; and the need for creating safe spaces during practice placement. Originality/value: Anti-Black racism exists within occupational therapy education and practice settings and negatively affects the education experience of students at the university of focus. The findings illuminated the experiences and feelings of Black occupational therapy students mainly highlighting racial discriminatory experiences. There were some positive experiences with educators. Participants provided valuable suggestions for creating safe spaces inclusive of Black occupational therapy students.