Occupational justice

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Occupational justice is a particular category of social justice related to the intrinsic need for humans to explore and act on their environments in ways that provide healthy levels of intellectual stimulation, and allow for personal care and safety, subsistence, pleasure, and social participation.\

According to The American Occupational Therapy Association, it is the role of occupational therapists (OTs) to help individuals live a life free of systematic barriers put in place by society. OTs do this by advocating for individuals and empowering them. [1]

The originators of the concept, social scientists and occupational therapists Ann Wilcock of Australia and Elizabeth Townsend of Canada, [2] maintain that abundant research in the social and behavioral sciences demonstrates the adverse consequences of isolation, sensory deprivation, unemployment, incarceration, alienation, and boredom, suggesting that the denial of opportunities to engage in purposeful activities necessary for health and well-being creates a type of social injustice, or occupational deprivation, [3] which has been termed "occupational injustice." Occupational justice advocates for occupational opportunities for minority or underrepresented groups, [4] such as the LGBTQIA+ community, refugees, and people of color. Contemplating a utopian vision of an 'occupationally just' world, the originators of the concept note that while "social justice addresses the social relations and social conditions of life, occupational justice addresses what people do in their relationships and conditions for living" (p. 84). [5] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's ability to fulfill their daily routines and roles. OTs have training in the physical, psychological, and social aspects of human functioning deriving from an education grounded in anatomical and physiological concepts, and psychological perspectives. They enable individuals across the lifespan by optimizing their abilities to perform activities that are meaningful to them ("occupations"). Human occupations include activities of daily living, work/vocation, play, education, leisure, rest and sleep, and social participation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupational therapy</span> Healthcare profession

Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession that involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of OT consists of health care practitioners trained and educated to improve mental and physical performance. Occupational therapists specialize in teaching, educating, and supporting participation in any activity that occupies an individual's time. It is an independent health profession sometimes categorized as an allied health profession and consists of occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). While OTs and OTAs have different roles, they both work with people who want to improve their mental and or physical health, disabilities, injuries, or impairments.

Occupational science is a discipline dedicated to the study of humans as "doers" or "occupational beings". As used here, the term "occupation" refers to the intentional or goal-directed activities that characterize daily human life as well as the characteristics and patterns of purposeful activity that occur over lifetimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Casson</span> British doctor

Elizabeth Casson OBE was a British medical doctor and an occupational therapy pioneer. Initially training as a secretary, Casson began studying medicine at the University of Bristol when she was 32. She received her medical degree in 1926, becoming the first woman to receive one from the University of Bristol. She also attained the Gaskell prize from the Royal Medico-Psychological Association and a diploma in psychological medicine from the University of London.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Occupational Therapy Association</span> American professional association

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students and improve the quality of occupational therapy services. AOTA membership is approximately 63,000 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students.

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.

This article is about physical therapy in carpal tunnel syndrome.

Occupational therapy is used to manage the issues caused by seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Occupational therapists assist with the management of SAD through the incorporation of a variety of healthcare disciplines into therapeutic practice. Potential patients with SAD are assessed, treated, and evaluated primarily using treatments such as drug therapies, light therapies, and psychological therapies. Therapists are often involved in designing an individualised treatment plan that most effectively meets the client's goals and needs around their responsiveness to a variety of treatments.

Cultural humility is the “ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the [person].” Cultural humility is different from other culturally-based training ideals because it focuses on self-humility rather than being an other-directed "they/them" way of achieving a state of knowledge or awareness. It is helpful to see as others see; what they themselves have determined is their personal expression of their heritage and their “personal culture”. Cultural humility was formed in the physical healthcare field and adapted for therapists, social workers, and medical librarians, to learn more about experiences and cultural identities of others and increase the quality of their interactions with clients and community members.

Substance use disorders (SUD) can have a significant effect on one's function in all areas of occupation. Physical and psychosocial issues due to SUD can impact occupational performance. Unfulfilled life roles and disruption in meaningful activity can result from lack of structure or routine, poor motivation, limited skills, and poor social networks. These deficits may also contribute to stress, affecting the ability to cope with challenges. While SUD can affect a client's participation in therapy and ability to follow recommendations, occupational therapists are trained to facilitate occupational participation and performance.

Occupational injustice derives from the concept of occupational justice, which originated in 1997 with social scientists/ occupational therapists Ann Wilcock of Australia and Elizabeth Townsend of Canada. As a particular application of social justice, occupational injustice occurs when a person is denied, excluded from or deprived of opportunity to pursue meaningful occupations or when unchosen occupations are imposed upon them thus limiting life satisfaction. The construct of occupational rights stems from human rights but focuses on the inherent right of individuals to participate in occupations, construed as their personally meaningful and goal-directed use of time. Through this participation, occupational rights contribute to fulfillment and self-actualization. Groups of people that may be vulnerable to experiencing occupational injustices include cultural, religious, and ethnic minority groups, child labourers, the unemployed, prisoners, persons with substance use disorder, residents of institutions, refugees, and/or women.

The University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is home to North America's only free-standing faculty of rehabilitation medicine and is composed of three departments, 11 research groups, six student clinics and programs and five institutes and centres. It provides academic training in rehabilitation science, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sensory processing disorder</span> Medical condition

Sensory processing disorder is a condition in which multisensory input is not adequately processed in order to provide appropriate responses to the demands of the environment. Sensory processing disorder is present in many people with dyspraxia, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Individuals with SPD may inadequately process visual, auditory, olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), vestibular (balance), proprioception, and interoception sensory stimuli.

The American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) is a charitable, scientific and educational non-profit organization founded in 1965. Alice C. Jantzen was the AOTF's first president, serving from 1965 to 1966. 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 sponsors the honor society Pi Theta Epsilon. It is based in Rockville, Maryland.

Frances Moran Rutherford was an artist, an occupational therapist and educator who was instrumental in gaining recognition for occupational therapy in New Zealand.

Gary Wayne Kielhofner was an American social scientist and influential occupational therapy theorist who rose to prominence as a scholar during his time as Professor and Wade-Meyer Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is best known for his conceptual practice model, which is known globally as The Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). The model was first published as a series of articles in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy by Kielhofner and others but later extensively developed over Kielhofner's career and disseminated in numerous books and articles. Kielhofner lectured widely and consulted regularly in the United States and abroad, particularly throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom,, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Hong Kong, Israel, and Central and South America. An active network of proponents across the international occupational therapy community continues to study and evolve his model through the MOHO Clearinghouse maintained at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Evelyn Mary Macdonald was a British occupational therapist who helped establish occupational therapy in the United Kingdom, Argentina and Greece. She founded the Association of Occupational Therapists. Miss Macdonald was Principal of Dorset House, the oldest and largest School in Great Britain for 33 years. She was an appointed member of the Cope Committee which led to the statutory regulation of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine in 1960. Macdonald was the first Chair of the Occupational Therapists Board. She was an author, an early advocate of cooperation between the allied health professions and a historian of the Association.

The Kawa model is a culturally responsive conceptual framework used in occupational therapy to understand and guide the therapeutic process. Developed by Japanese occupational therapists, the model draws upon the metaphor of a river to describe human occupation and its relationship to well-being. The overarching goal of use is to "provide a culturally flexible model to aid occupational therapists to improve communication with clients, to better understand what a client finds meaningful and important, and to design optimal client-centered interventions."

References

  1. ↑ "The Occupation of Justice". www.aota.org. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  2. ↑ Nilsson, I., & Townsend, E. (2010). Occupational Justice—Bridging theory and practice. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 17(1), 57–63. https://doi.org/10.3109/11038120903287182 Townsend, E.A., & Wilcock, A. A. Occupational Justice. In C. Christiansen, & E. Townsend,(2004). Introduction to Occupation: The Art and Science of Living. (pp. 243-273). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  3. ↑ Whiteford, G.(2000). Occupational deprivation: Global challenge in the new millennium. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(5), 200-204.
  4. ↑ Wasmuth, S. "Supporting Occupational Justice for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming People Through Narrative-Informed Theater: A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study". search.ebscohost.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  5. ↑ Wilcock, A.A. & Townsend, E.A., (2000). Occupational justice: Occupational terminology interactive dialogue. Journal of Occupational Science, 7(2), 84-86.
  6. ↑ Stadnyk, R.L., Townsend, E.A., & Wilcock, A.A. Occupational justice. In C. Christiansen & E. Townsend (Eds). Introduction to Occupation: The Art and Science of Living (pp. 329-358). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
  7. ↑ Wilcock, A.A. (1998). An occupational perspective of health. Thorofare, NJ: Slack,
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