Improving Families’ Access to Community Resources

This course walks you through my doctoral capstone experience as an entry-level occupational therapy student at Drake University. My project focused on creating handouts and compiling resources for non-English speaking families at a pediatric clinic. I aimed to decrease barriers around accessing the community and useful resources for a population that often faces major barriers when trying to navigate the healthcare system.

In this course, I discuss how my needs assessment and critically appraised topic shaped the direction of the project. You’ll get a clearer picture of what the research  says about the challenges non-English speaking patients face in healthcare settings, and how my capstone site fits into that picture, especially at the site I was placed at.

You will learn what learning objectives I met and the specific activities I designed to meet them. The artifacts I created throughout the experience are included so others can reference or build on them in their own practice or coursework.

Whether you’re a fellow OT student, a clinician working with diverse patient populations, or someone passionate about equal access to health care, I hope this course offers a meaningful look at how occupational therapy can play a real role in bridging language gaps in pediatric care.