Interpretive description of recreational therapy within the curricula of selected healthcare professions in South Africa

ABSTRACT In South Africa (SA), recreational therapy (RT)/therapeutic recreation (TR) as profession ended in June 1978 and currently remains unrecognized as a profession. Some of the existing health professions in SA may provide services similar to those of RT/TR as practised in the United States of America (USA). In particular, the scopes of practice of biokinetics (a SA profession similar to clinical exercise physiology), physiotherapy and occupational therapy show some similarities to the international concept of RT/TR. The study aimed to interpret and describe RT/TR, as practised in the USA, within the curricula of biokinetics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The credentialing document for the speciality of RT/TR published by the US National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification: Certification Standards: Information for New Applicants, 2018 was subjected to inductive content analysis, followed by a deductive analysis of the biokinetics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy curricula detailed in the yearbooks of seven SA universities. Some similarities were observed between the requirements of RT/TR in the USA and biokinetics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy curricula, especially in terms of foundational knowledge. However, knowledge about recreation, specifically RT/TR, was lacking from the biokinetics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy curricula, suggesting that RT/TR is not featured in them.