An occupational therapist (OT) works with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of "purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve occupational outcomes which promote health, prevent injury or disability to develop, improve, sustain or restore the highest possible level of independence."
Health, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This definition has been subject to controversy, as it may have limited value for implementation. Health may be defined as the ability to adapt and manage physical, mental and social challenges throughout life.
Occupational therapy (OT) is the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities. It is an allied health profession performed by occupational therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants. OTs often work with people with mental health problems, disabilities, injuries, or impairments.
Structural violence is a term commonly ascribed to Johan Galtung, which he introduced in the article "Violence, Peace, and Peace Research" (1969). It refers to a form of violence wherein some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. Institutionalized adultism, ageism, classism, elitism, ethnocentrism, nationalism, speciesism, racism, and sexism are some examples of structural violence as proposed by Galtung. According to Galtung, rather than conveying a physical image, structural violence is an "avoidable impairment of fundamental human needs". As it is avoidable, structural violence is a high cause of premature death and unnecessary disability. Because structural violence affects people differently in various social structures, it is very closely linked to social injustice. Structural violence and direct violence are said to be highly interdependent, including family violence, gender violence, hate crimes, racial violence, police violence, state violence, terrorism, and war.
Relative deprivation is the lack of resources to sustain the diet, lifestyle, activities and amenities that an individual or group are accustomed to or that are widely encouraged or approved in the society to which they belong. Measuring relative deprivation allows an objective comparison between the situation of the individual or group compared to the rest of society. Relative deprivation may also emphasise the individual experience of discontent when being deprived of something to which one believes oneself to be entitled, however emphasizing the perspective of the individual makes objective measurement problematic.
Social exclusion or marginalization , or social marginalisation, is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term used widely in Europe and was first used in France. It is used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, politics and economics.
Occupational science is a discipline in the social and behavioral sciences dedicated to the study of humans as "doers" or "occupational beings". As used here, the term "occupation" refers to the goal-directed activities that characterize daily human life as well as the characteristics and patterns of purposeful activity that occur over lifetimes as these affect health and well-being.
Challenging the Chip is a 2006 book on "labor rights and environmental justice in the global electronics industry" edited by Ted Smith, David A. Sonnenfeld, and David Naguib Pellow. It is published by Temple University Press. In three parts, the book looks at global electronics, environmental justice and labor rights, and electronic waste and extended producer responsibility. In four appendices, the book also deals with the principles of environmental justice, the computer take-back campaign, sample shareholder resolutions, and the electronics recycler's pledge of true stewardship.
The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E) was developed by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists in 1997, and describes transactions and mutual influences between the dimensions of occupational performance It is applied by the accompanying Occupational Performance Process Model, which describes the therapeutic process from a client’s perspective The main model illustrates the relationship between person, occupation and environment. Spirituality is the fourth dimension, placed in the centre of the model to highlight its fundamental importance.
"Dirty, dangerous and demeaning", also known as the 3Ds, is an American neologism derived from the Asian concept, and refers to certain kinds of labor often performed by unionized blue-collar workers.
Occupational apartheid is the concept in occupational therapy that different individuals, groups and communities can be deprived of meaningful and purposeful activity through segregation due to social, political, economical factors and for social status reasons.
This article discusses occupational therapy (OT) in the United Kingdom.
Occupational stress is stress related to one's job. Occupational stress often stems from unexpected responsibilities and pressures that do not align with a person's knowledge, skills, or expectations, inhibiting one's ability to cope. Occupational stress can increase when workers do not feel supported by supervisors or colleagues, or feel as if they have little control over work processes.
The practice of Restorative justice offers an alternative approach for dealing with harm caused by crime. It uses a three-dimensional approach that includes the victim, the offender, and the community. Restorative justice programs are used as a method of improving victim and/or offender satisfaction, increasing offender compliance with restitution, and decreasing the recidivism of offenders as an alternative to traditional criminal justice methods of response. The current approach to crime, as Stinchcomb and Fox (1999) point out, “does little to reinforce any sense of either personal responsibility on the part of the offender or personal involvement in the justice process on the part of the victim." Restorative justice practices in social work are often geared towards cultivating alternative spaces, which value personal responsibility and involvement.
Clinical mental health counseling is a distinct profession with national standards for education, training, and clinical practice. Clinical mental health counselors operate from a wellness perspective, which emphasizes moving toward optimal human functioning in mind, body, and spirit, and away from distress, dysfunction, and mental illness. Counselors also view wellness and pathology as developmental in nature, and take into consideration all levels of a client's environment when conducting assessment and treatment. Counselors also frequently take a team approach, collaborating with other mental health professionals to provide the most comprehensive care possible for the client.
The American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) is a charitable, scientific and educational non-profit organization founded in 1965. Its purpose is to advance the science of occupational therapy to support people's full participation in meaningful life activities. The foundation is governed by a board of trustees and awards grants for scientific research and scholarships. It also publishes a scientific journal OTJR, Occupation, Participation and Health, indexed by the National Library of Medicine and others. It is based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Medical sociology is the sociological analysis of medical organizations and institutions; the production of knowledge and selection of methods, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural effects of medical practice. The field commonly interacts with the sociology of knowledge, science and technology studies, and social epistemology. Medical sociologists are also interested in the qualitative experiences of patients, often working at the boundaries of public health, social work, demography and gerontology to explore phenomena at the intersection of the social and clinical sciences. Health disparities commonly relate to typical categories such as class and race. Objective sociological research findings quickly become a normative and political issue.
