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Description
This doctoral capstone project and Applied Leadership Experience (ALE) focused on advocacy, leadership, and virtual program development within the Kentucky Occupational Therapy Association (KOTA). The project addressed a gap, bridging conversations surrounding advocacy to active engagement in professional advocacy through an 'Advocacy' webpage for the KOTA website. The goal of this capstone project is to make advocacy resources more accessible and increase participation in professional organizations for the benefit and unification of occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students and practitioners.
Virginia Stoffel's Presidential Address, Engagement, Exploration, and Empowerment (2015), served as the primary framework guiding this project. The framework emphasizes engagement as participation in professional efforts, exploration as seeking opportunities to become more informed and involved, and empowerment as taking action to improve the profession. These concepts supported the development of a resource designed to increase advocacy awareness, accessibility, and participation among occupational therapy students and practitioners.
A literature review identified barriers to professional advocacy participation which included; limited time, resources, and knowledge of legislative processes. In attempting to overcome these barriers, the 'Advocacy' section provides advocacy and professional education, legislative resources, opportunities for grassroots involvement, and connections to state and national advocacy initiatives. Additional deliverables included promotional materials, social media content, newsletter announcements, educational resources, and a future conference presentation to support dissemination and long-term sustainability.
Project effectiveness was evaluated through board member feedback in addition to planned outcome measures such as advocacy page traffic, engagement, and participation in advocacy-related activities. Thorough communication with KOTA leadership, advocacy representatives, neighboring state association members, and faculty mentors guided project development and revisions as needed.
Throughout the capstone experience, this author demonstrated leadership through intentional program development, inter- and intra-professional collaboration, addressing systems-level advocacy approaches, and engaging in professional communication to increase state networking while learning new legislative concepts. This project advances the profession of occupational therapy by encouraging members in the profession to move from discussing advocacy to actively engaging in it, regardless of education and experience level. The advocacy page provides KOTA with a sustainable resource that supports member engagement, increases awareness of current issues, and strengthens advocacy efforts across Kentucky.
Graduation Date
5-2026
Keywords
Advocacy, Organization, professional advocacy, legislation, collaboration
Disciplines
Occupational Therapy
Degree Type
Book
Site Mentor
Camille Skubik-Peplaski, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Comments
Link to video presentation: https://youtu.be/KAVtWlk7hyw