Occupational Therapy

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Occupational therapy
US Navy Occupational therapists providing treatment to outpatients
ICD-9-CM	93.83
MeSH	D009788
[edit on Wikidata]

Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy in Europe, is a healthcare profession that helps people take part in the everyday activities, or occupations, that are important for daily life. These occupations include self-care tasks, work, school, social participation, and leisure activities.

Occupational therapists work with people who experience illness, injury, disability, or age-related changes that limit their ability to function independently. They assess a person's needs, set goals, and use everyday activities as therapeutic tools. Therapists may also modify tasks, recommend adaptive equipment, or adjust the physical or social environment to support participation.

Occupational therapy began developing into a formal health profession in the early twentieth century. Occupational science, the academic study of humans as 'doers' or 'occupational beings', was developed by interdisciplinary scholars, including occupational therapists, in the 1980s.

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) defines occupational therapy as a "client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and wellbeing through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement."^[1]

Occupational therapy is classified as an allied health profession in many countries. In the United Kingdom, occupational therapists are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council as part of a group of professions that form the third-largest clinical workforce in the National Health Service. In England, allied health professions (AHPs) are the third largest clinical workforce in health and care.^[2] Fifteen professions, with 352,593 registrants, are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council in the United Kingdom.^[3]

In Europe, occupational therapy is also known as ergotherapy in Europe, derived from the Greek ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active.

The earliest evidence of using occupations as a method of therapy can be found in ancient times. In c. 100 BCE, Greek physician Asclepiades treated patients with a mental illness humanely using therapeutic baths, massage, exercise, and music. Later, the Roman Celsus prescribed music, travel, conversation and exercise to his patients. However, by medieval times the use of these interventions with people with mental illness was rare, if not nonexistent.^[4]

In late 18th-century Europe, doctors such as Philippe Pinel and Johann Christian Reil reformed the mental asylum system. Their institutions used rigorous work and leisure activities. This became part of what was known as moral treatment.^[5] Although it was thriving in Europe, interest in the reform movement fluctuated in the United States throughout the 19th century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the establishment of public health measures to control infectious diseases included the building of fever hospitals. Patients with tuberculosis were recommended to have a regime of prolonged bed rest followed by a gradual increase in exercise.^[6]

This was a time in which the rising incidence of disability related to industrial accidents, tuberculosis, and mental illness brought about an increasing social awareness of the issues involved. ^[7]

The Arts and Crafts movement that took place between 1860 and 1910 also impacted occupational therapy. The movement emerged against the monotony and lost autonomy of factory work in the developed world.^[8] Arts and crafts were used to promote learning through doing, provided a creative outlet, and served as a way to avoid boredom during long hospital stays.^[9]

From the late 1870s, Scottish tuberculosis doctor Robert William Philip prescribed graded activity from complete rest through to gentle exercise and eventually to activities such as digging, sawing, carpentry and window cleaning. During this period a farm colony near Edinburgh and a village settlement near Papworth in England were established, both of which aimed to employ people in appropriate long-term work prior to their return to open employment.^[10]

In the United States, the health profession of occupational therapy was conceived in the early 1910s as a reflection of the Progressive Era. Early professionals merged highly valued ideals, such as having a strong work ethic and the importance of crafting with one's own hands with scientific and medical principles.^[11]

American social worker Eleanor Clarke Slagle (1870–1942) is considered the "mother" of occupational therapy.^[12] She advocated "habit training" as a primary occupational therapy model, asserting that meaningful routines can shape a person's well-being by creating structure and balance between work, rest and leisure.^[12] Slagle was a leader in the development of occupational therapy as a profession, becoming director of a department of occupational therapy at The Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic in Baltimore in 1912,^[13] and establishing the first occupational therapy training program for the disabled in the Henry B. Favill School of Occupations at Hull House in Chicago in 1915.^[14]

British-Canadian teacher and architect Thomas B. Kidner was appointed vocational secretary of the Canadian Military Hospitals Commission in January 1916. He was given the duty of preparing soldiers returning from World War I to return to their former vocational duties or retrain soldiers no longer able to perform their previous duties. He developed a program that engaged soldiers recovering from wartime injuries or tuberculosis in occupations even while they were still bedridden. Once the soldiers were sufficiently recovered they would work in a curative workshop and eventually progress to an industrial workshop before being placed in an appropriate work setting. He used occupations (daily activities) as a medium for manual training and helping injured individuals to return to productive duties such as work.^[15]

The entry of the United States into World War I in April 1917 was a crucial event in the history of the profession. Up until this time, occupational therapy was not formalised into a profession. U.S. involvement in the war led to an escalating number of injured and disabled soldiers, which presented a daunting challenge to those in command.

The inaugural meeting of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy (NSPOT) was held in Clifton Springs, New York, 15–17 March 1917. The meeting was attended by six founders: George Edward Barton, William Rush Dunton, Eleanor Clarke Slagle, Thomas B Kidner, Susan Cox Johnson and Isabel Gladwin Newton Barton. Susan E. Tracy and Herbert James Hall, did not attend but are considered near founders of the Society.^[16]

The military enlisted the assistance of NSPOT to recruit and train over 1,200 "reconstruction aides" to help with the rehabilitation of those wounded in the war.^[17][18]

Dunton's 1918 article "The Principles of Occupational Therapy" appeared in the journal Public Health, and laid the foundation for the textbook he published in 1919 entitled Reconstruction Therapy.^[19]

Dunton struggled with "the cumbersomeness of the term occupational therapy", as he thought it lacked the "exactness of meaning which is possessed by scientific terms". Other titles such as "work-cure", "ergo therapy" (ergo being the Greek root for "work"), and "creative occupations" were discussed as substitutes, but ultimately, none possessed the broad meaning that the practice of occupational therapy demanded in order to capture the many forms of treatment that existed from the beginning.^[20] NSPOT formally adopted the name "occupational therapy" for the field in 1921.^[21]

There was a struggle to keep people in the profession during the post-war years. Emphasis shifted from the altruistic war-time mentality to the financial, professional, and personal satisfaction that comes with being a therapist. To make the profession more appealing, practice was standardized, as was the curriculum. Entry and exit criteria were established, and the American Occupational Therapy Association advocated for steady employment, decent wages, and fair working conditions. Via these methods, occupational therapy sought and obtained medical legitimacy in the 1920s.^[4]

The 1920s and 1930s were a time of establishing standards of education and laying the foundation of the profession and its organization. Eleanor Clarke Slagle proposed a 12-month course of training in 1922, and these standards were adopted in 1923. In 1928, William Denton published another textbook, Prescribing Occupational Therapy. Educational standards were expanded to a total training time of 18 months in 1930 to place the requirements for professional entry on par with those of other professions. By the early 1930s, AOTA had established educational guidelines and accreditation procedures.^[22]

Margaret Barr Fulton became the first US qualified occupational therapist to work in the United Kingdom in 1925. She qualified at the Philadelphia School in the United States and was appointed to the Aberdeen Royal Hospital for mental patients where she worked until her retirement in 1963. US-style OT was introduced into England by Dr Elizabeth Casson who had visited similar establishments in America. (Casson had also earlier worked under the transformative English social reformer Octavia Hill.) In 1929 she established her own residential clinic in Bristol, Dorset House, for "women with mental disorders", and worked as its medical director. It was here in 1930 that she founded the first school of occupational therapy in the UK.^[23]

The Scottish Association of Occupational Therapists was founded in 1932. The profession was served in the rest of the UK by the Association of Occupational Therapists from 1936. (The two later merged to form what is today the Royal College of Occupational Therapists in 1974.)^[24]

With the US entry into World War II and the ensuing skyrocketing demand for occupational therapists to treat those injured in the war, the field of occupational therapy underwent dramatic growth and change. Occupational therapists needed to be skilled not only in the use of constructive activities such as crafts, but also increasingly in the use of activities of daily living.^[20]

The body that is now Occupational Therapy Australia began in 1944.^[25]

Another textbook was published in the United States for occupational therapy in 1947, edited by Helen S. Willard and Clare S. Spackman. The profession continued to grow and redefine itself in the 1950s. In 1954, AOTA created the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award in its namesake's honor. Each year, this award recognizes a member of AOTA "who has creatively contributed to the development of the body of knowledge of the profession through research, education, or clinical practice."^[26] The profession also began to assess the potential for the use of trained assistants in the attempt to address the ongoing shortage of qualified therapists, and educational standards for occupational therapy assistants were implemented in 1960.^[20]

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of ongoing change and growth for the profession as it struggled to incorporate new knowledge and cope with the recent and rapid growth of the profession in the previous decades. New developments in the areas of neurobehavioral research led to new conceptualizations and new treatment approaches, possibly the most groundbreaking being the sensory integrative approach developed by A. Jean Ayres.^[20]

The profession has continued to grow and expand its scope and settings of practice. Occupational science, the study of occupation, was founded in 1989 by Elizabeth Yerxa at the University of Southern California as an academic discipline to provide foundational research on occupation to support and advance the practice of occupation-based occupational therapy, as well as offer a basic science to study topics surrounding "occupation".^[27]

In addition, occupational therapy practitioner's roles have expanded to include political advocacy (from a grassroots base to higher legislation); for example, in 2010 PL 111-148 titled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act had a habilitation clause that was passed in large part due to AOTA's political efforts.^[28] Furthermore, occupational therapy practitioners have been striving personally and professionally toward concepts of occupational justice and other human rights issues that have both local and global impacts. The World Federation of Occupational Therapist's Resource Centre has many position statements on occupational therapy's roles regarding their participation in human rights issues.^[29]

In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked occupational therapy as #19 of their list of '100 Best Jobs'.^[30]

The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF) is the core competency of occupational therapy in the United States. The OTPF is divided into two sections: domain and process. The domain includes environment, client factors, such as the individual's motivation, health status, and status of performing occupational tasks. The domain looks at the contextual picture to help the occupational therapist understand how to diagnose and treat the patient. The process is the actions taken by the therapist to implement a plan and strategy to treat the patient.^[31]

The Canadian Model of Client Centered Enablement (CMCE) embraces occupational enablement as the core competency of occupational therapy^[32] and the Canadian Practice Process Framework (CPPF)^[32] as the core process of occupational enablement in Canada. The Canadian Practice Process Framework (CPPF)^[32] has eight action points and three contextual element which are: set the stage, evaluate, agree on objective plan, implement plan, monitor/modify, and evaluate outcome. A central element of this process model is the focus on identifying both client and therapists strengths and resources prior to developing the outcomes and action plan.

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is the World Health Organisation's framework to measure health and ability by illustrating how these components impact one's function. This relates very closely to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, as it is stated that "the profession's core beliefs are in the positive relationship between occupation and health and its view of people as occupational beings".^[33] The ICF is built into the 2nd edition of the practice framework. Activities and participation examples from the ICF overlap Areas of Occupation, Performance Skills, and Performance Patterns in the framework. The ICF also includes contextual factors (environmental and personal factors) that relate to the framework's context. In addition, body functions and structures classified within the ICF help describe the client factors described in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework.^[34] Further exploration of the relationship between occupational therapy and the components of the ICIDH-2 (revision of the original International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH), which later became the ICF) was conducted by McLaughlin Gray.^[35]

It is noted in the literature that occupational therapists should use specific occupational therapy vocabulary along with the ICF in order to ensure correct communication about specific concepts.^[36] The ICF might lack certain categories to describe what occupational therapists need to communicate to clients and colleagues. It also may not be possible to exactly match the connotations of the ICF categories to occupational therapy terms. The ICF is not an assessment and specialized occupational therapy terminology should not be replaced with ICF terminology.^[37] The ICF is an overarching framework for current therapy practices.

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA) Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 4th Edition (OTPF-4), occupations are defined as "everyday activities that people do as individuals, and families, and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life. Occupations include things people need to, want to and are expected to do".^[38] Occupations are central to a client's (person's, group's, or population's) health, identity, and sense of competence and have particular meaning and value to that client.^[39] Occupations include activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), education, work, play, leisure, social participation, rest and sleep.

According to the 2019 Salary and Workforce Survey by the American Occupational Therapy Association, occupational therapists work in a wide-variety of practice settings including: hospitals (28.6%), schools (18.8%), long-term care facilities/skilled nursing facilities (14.5%), free-standing outpatient (13.3%), home health (7.3%), academia (6.9%), early intervention (4.4%), mental health (2.2%), community (2.4%), and other (1.6%). According to the AOTA, the most common primary work setting for occupational therapists is in hospitals. Also according to the survey, 46% of occupational therapists work in urban areas, 39% work in suburban areas and the remaining 15% work in rural areas.^[40]

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) found that as of 2020 nearly half (46.1%) of occupational therapists worked in hospitals, 43.2% worked in community health, 3.6% work in long-term care (LTC) and 7.1% work in "other", including government, industry, manufacturing, and commercial settings. The CIHI also found that 68% of occupational therapists in Canada work in urban settings and only 3.7% work in rural settings.^[41]

Occupational therapists work with infants, toddlers, children, youth, and their families in a variety of settings, including schools, clinics, homes, hospitals, and the community.^[42] Evaluation assesses the child's ability to engage in daily, meaningful occupations, the underlying skills (or performance components) which may be physical, cognitive, or emotional in nature, and the fit between the client's skills and the environments and contexts in which the client functions. OT intervention and involves evaluating a young person's occupational performance in areas of feeding, playing, socializing which aligns with their neurodiversity, daily living skills, or attending school.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

Objectives that an occupational therapist addresses with children and youth may take a variety of forms.^[43][44] Examples are as follows: * Providing rehabilitation activities to children with neuromuscular disabilities such as cerebral palsy

• Supporting self-regulation within neurodivergent children whose neurobiology does not align with the sensory environment or the contexts in which they function
• Facilitating coping skills to a child with generalized anxiety disorder.
• Consulting with teachers, psychologists, social workers, parents/caregivers, and other professionals who work with children regarding modifications, accommodations and supports in a variety of areas, such as sensory processing, motor planning, visual processing, and executive function skills.
• Providing individualized treatment for sensory processing differences.
• Providing splinting and caregiver education in a hospital burn unit.
• Instructing caregivers in regard to mealtime intervention for autistic children who have feeding challenges.^[45]
• Facilitating handwriting development through providing intervention to develop fine motor and writing readiness skills in school-aged children.

In the United States, pediatric occupational therapists work in the school setting as a "related service" for children with an Individual Education Plan (IEP).^[44] Every student who receives special education and related services in the public school system is required by law to have an IEP, which is a very individualized plan designed for each specific student (U.S. Department of Education, 2007).^[46] Related services are "developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education," and include a variety of professions such as speech–language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, and physical and occupational therapy.^[47]

As a related service, occupational therapists work with children with varying disabilities to address those skills needed to access the special education program and support academic achievement and social participation throughout the school day (AOTA, n.d.-b).^[48] In doing so, occupational therapists help children fulfill their role as students and prepare them to transition to post-secondary education, career and community integration (AOTA, n.d.-b).Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag^[49]

Recognition of occupational therapy programs and services for children and youth is increasing worldwide.^[50] Occupational therapy for both children and adults is now recognized by the United Nations as a human right which is linked to the social determinants of health. As of 2018^[update], there are over 500,000 occupational therapists working worldwide (many of whom work with children) and 778 academic institutions providing occupational therapy instruction.^[51]

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA) Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 3rd Edition, the domain of occupational therapy is described as "Achieving health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in occupation".^[52] Occupational therapy practitioners have a distinct value in their ability to utilize daily occupations to achieve optimal health and well-being. By examining an individual's roles, routines, environment, and occupations, occupational therapists can identify the barriers in achieving overall health, well-being and participation.^[53]

Occupational therapy practitioners can intervene at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of intervention to promote health and wellness. It can be addressed in all practice settings to prevent disease and injuries, and adapt healthy lifestyle practices for those with chronic diseases.^[54] Two of the occupational therapy programs that have emerged targeting health and wellness are the Lifestyle Redesign Program^[55] and the REAL Diabetes Program.^[56]

Occupational therapy interventions for health and wellness vary in each setting:^[53]

Occupational therapy practitioners target school-wide advocacy for health and wellness including: bullying prevention, backpack awareness, recess promotion, school lunches, and PE inclusion. They also heavily work with students with learning disabilities such as those on the autism spectrum.^[57]

A study conducted in Switzerland showed that a large majority of occupational therapists collaborate with schools, half of them providing direct services within mainstream school settings. The results also show that services were mainly provided to children with medical diagnoses, focusing on the school environment rather than the child's disability.^[58]

Occupational therapy practitioners in acute care assess whether a patient has the cognitive, emotional and physical ability as well as the social supports needed to live independently and care for themselves after discharge from the hospital.^[59] Occupational therapists are uniquely positioned to support patients in acute care as they focus on both clinical and social determinants of health. Services delivered by occupational therapists in acute care include:

• Direct rehabilitation interventions, individually or in group settings to address physical, emotional and cognitive skills that are required for the patient to perform self-care and other important activities.
• Caregiver training to assist patients after discharge.
• Recommendations for adaptive equipment for increased safety and independence with activities of daily living (e.g. aids for getting dressed, shower chairs for bathing, and medication organizers for self-administering medications).
• They also perform home safety assessments to suggest modifications for improved safety and function after discharge.

Occupational therapists use a variety of models, including the Model of Human Occupation, Person, Environment and Occupation, and Canadian Occupational Performance Model to adopt a client centered approach used for discharge planning.^[60] Hospital spending on occupational therapy services in acute care was found to be the single most significant spending category in reducing the risk of readmission to the hospital for heart failure, pneumonia, and acute myocardial infarction.^[61]

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Mental Health Occupational therapy's foundation in mental health is deeply rooted in the moral treatment movement, which sought to replace the harsh treatment of mental disorders with the establishment of healthy routines and engagement in meaningful activities. This movement significantly influenced the development of occupational therapy, particularly through the contributions of early 20th-century practitioners and theorists like Adolph Meyer, who emphasized a holistic approach to mental health care (Christiansen & Haertl, 2014). According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), occupational therapy is based on the principle that "active engagement in occupation promotes, facilitates, supports, and maintains health and participation" (AOTA, 2017). Occupations refer to individuals' activities to structure their time and provide meaning. The primary goals of occupational therapy include promoting physical and mental health and well-being and establishing, restoring, maintaining, and improving function and quality of life for individuals at risk of or affected by physical or mental health disorders (AOTA, 2017).

Education and Professional Qualifications

Occupational therapists require a master's degree or clinical doctorate, while occupational therapy assistants need at least an associate degree. Their education encompasses extensive mental health-related topics, including biological, physical, social, and behavioral sciences, and supervised clinical experiences culminating in full-time internships. Both must pass national examinations and meet state licensure requirements. Occupational therapists apply mental and physical health knowledge, focusing on participation and occupation, using performance-based assessments to understand the relationship between occupational participation and well-being. Their education covers various aspects of mental health, including neurophysiological changes, human development, historical and contemporary perspectives on mental health, and current diagnostic criteria. This comprehensive training prepares occupational therapy practitioners to address the complex interplay of client variables, activity demands, and environmental factors in promoting health and managing health challenges (Bazyk & Downing, 2017). Occupational therapy role in mental health practice

Occupational therapy practitioners play a critical role in mental health by using therapeutic activities to promote mental health and support full participation in life for individuals at risk of or experiencing psychiatric, behavioral, and substance use disorders. They work across the lifespan and in various settings, including homes, schools, workplaces, community environments, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and residential facilities (AOTA,2017). Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants assume diverse roles, such as case managers, care coordinators, group facilitators, community mental health providers, consultants, program developers, and advocates. Their interventions aim to facilitate engagement in meaningful occupations, enhance role performance, and improve overall well-being. This involves analyzing, adapting, and modifying tasks and environments to support clients' goals and optimal engagement in daily activities (AOTA, 2017).

Occupational therapy utilizes the public health approach to mental health (WHO, 2001) which emphasizes the promotion of mental health as well as the prevention of, and intervention for, mental illness. This model highlights the distinct value of occupational therapists in mental health promotion, prevention, and intensive interventions across the lifespan (Miles et al., 2010). Below are the three major levels of service:

Intensive interventions are provided for individuals with identified mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders that limit daily functioning, interpersonal relationships, feelings of emotional well-being, and the ability to cope with challenges in daily life. Occupational therapy practitioners are committed to the recovery model which focuses on enabling persons with mental health challenges through a client-centered process to live a meaningful life in the community and reach their potential (Champagne & Gray, 2011).

The focus of targeted services (small groups, consultation, accommodations, education) is engagement in occupations to promote mental health and diminish early symptoms; small, therapeutic groups (Olson, 2011); environmental modifications to enhance participation (e.g., create Sensory friendly classrooms, home, or work environments)

Occupational therapists work with older adults to maintain independence, participate in meaningful activities, and live fulfilling lives. Some examples of areas that occupational therapists address with older adults are driving, aging in place, low vision, and dementia or Alzheimer's disease (AD).^[62] When addressing driving, driver evaluations are administered to determine if drivers are safe behind the wheel. To enable independence of older adults at home, occupational therapists perform falls risk assessments, assess clients functioning in their homes, and recommend specific home modifications. When addressing low vision, occupational therapists modify tasks and the environment.^[63] While working with individuals with AD, occupational therapists focus on maintaining quality of life, ensuring safety, and promoting independence.

Visual impairment is one of the top 10 disabilities among American adults. ^[64] Occupational therapists work with other professions, such as optometrists, ophthalmologists, and certified low vision therapists, to maximize the independence of persons with a visual impairment by using their remaining vision as efficiently as possible. AOTA's promotional goal of "Living Life to Its Fullest" speaks to who people are and learning about what they want to do,^[65] particularly when promoting the participation in meaningful activities, regardless of a visual impairment. Populations that may benefit from occupational therapy includes older adults, persons with traumatic brain injury, adults with potential to return to driving, and children with visual impairments. Visual impairments addressed by occupational therapists may be characterized into two types including low vision or a neurological visual impairment. An example of a neurological impairment is a cortical visual impairment (CVI) which is defined as "...abnormal or inefficient vision resulting from a problem or disorder affecting the parts of brain that provide sight".^[66] The following section will discuss the role of occupational therapy when working with the visually impaired.

Occupational therapy for older adults with low vision includes task analysis, environmental evaluation, and modification of tasks or the environment as needed. Many occupational therapy practitioners work closely with optometrists and ophthalmologists to address visual deficits in acuity, visual field, and eye movement in people with traumatic brain injury, including providing education on compensatory strategies to complete daily tasks safely and efficiently. Adults with a stable visual impairment may benefit from occupational therapy for the provision of a driving assessment and an evaluation of the potential to return to driving. Lastly, occupational therapy practitioners enable children with visual impairments to complete self care tasks and participate in classroom activities using compensatory strategies.^[67]

Occupational therapy in adult rehabilitation may take a variety of forms:

• Working with adults with autism at day rehabilitation programs to promote successful relationships and community participation through instruction on social skills^[68]
• Increasing the quality of life for an individual with cancer by engaging them in occupations that are meaningful, providing anxiety and stress reduction methods, and suggesting fatigue management strategies^[69]
• Coaching individuals with hand amputations how to put on and take off a myoelectrically controlled limb as well as training for functional use of the limb^[69]
• Pressure sore prevention for those with sensation loss such as in spinal cord injuries.
• Using and implementing new technology such as speech to text software and Nintendo Wii video games^[70]
• Communicating via telehealth methods as a service delivery model for clients who live in rural areas^[71]
• Working with adults who have had a stroke to regain their activities of daily living^[72]

Occupational therapy practitioners, or occupational therapists (OTs), are uniquely poised to educate, recommend, and promote the use of assistive technology to improve the quality of life for their clients. OTs are able to understand the unique needs of the individual in regards to occupational performance and have a strong background in activity analysis to focus on helping clients achieve goals. Thus, the use of varied and diverse assistive technology is strongly supported within occupational therapy practice models.^[73]

Because of the rising need for occupational therapy practitioners in the U.S.,^[74] many facilities are opting for travel occupational therapy practitioners—who are willing to travel, often out of state, to work temporarily in a facility. Assignments can range from 8 weeks to 9 months, but typically last 13–26 weeks in length.^[75] Travel therapists work in many different settings, but the highest need for therapists are in home health and skilled nursing facility settings.^[76] There are no further educational requirements needed to be a travel occupational therapy practitioner; however, there may be different state licensure guidelines and practice acts that must be followed.^[77] According to Zip Recruiter, as of July 2019^[update], the national average salary for a full-time travel therapist is $86,475 with a range between $62,500 to $100,000 across the United States.^[78] Most commonly (43%), travel occupational therapists enter the industry between the ages of 21–30.^[79]

For example, the role of an occupational therapist working to promote occupational justice may include:

• Analyzing task, modifying activities and environments to minimize barriers to participation in meaningful activities of daily living.
• Addressing physical and mental aspects that may hinder a person's functional ability.
• Provide intervention that is relevant to the client, family, and social context.
• Contribute to global health by advocating for individuals with disabilities to participate in meaningful activities on a global level. Occupation therapists are involved with the World Health Organization (WHO), non-governmental organizations and community groups and policymaking to influence the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities worldwide

In contrast, occupational injustice relates to conditions wherein people are deprived, excluded or denied of opportunities that are meaningful to them.^[80] Types of occupational injustices and examples within the OT practice include:^[81]

Occupational deprivation: The exclusion from meaningful occupations due to external factors that are beyond the person's control. For example, a person with difficulties with functional mobility may find it challenging to reintegrate into the community due to transportation barriers.

• OTs can help in raising awareness and bringing communities together to reduce occupational deprivation
• OTs can recommend the removal of environmental barriers to facilitate occupation, whilst designing programs that enable engagement.
• Advocacy by providing information to policy to prevent possible unintended occupational deprivation and increase social cohesion and inclusion

Occupational apartheid: The exclusion of a person in chosen occupations due to personal characteristics such as age, gender, race, nationality, or socioeconomic status. An example can be seen in children with developmental disabilities from low socioeconomic backgrounds whose families would opt out of therapy due to financial constraints.

• OTs providing interventions within a segregated population must focus on increasing occupational engagement through large-scale environmental modification and occupational exploration.^[82]
• OTs can address occupational engagement through group and individual skill-building opportunities, as well as community-based experiences that explore free and local resources

Occupational marginalization: Relates to how implicit norms of behavior or societal expectations prevent a person from engaging in a chosen occupation. As an example, a child with physical impairments may only be offered table-top leisure activities instead of sports as an extracurricular activity due to the functional limitations caused by his physical impairments.

• OTs can design, develop, and/or provide programs that mitigate the negative impacts of occupational marginalization and enhance optimal levels of performance and wellbeing that enable participation

Occupational imbalance: The limited participation in a meaningful occupation brought about by another role in a different occupation. This can be seen in the situation of a caregiver of a person with a disability who also has to fulfill other roles such as being a parent to other children, a student, or a worker.

• OTs can advocate fostering for supportive environments for participation in occupations that promote individuals' well-being and in advocating for building healthy public policy

Occupational alienation: The imposition of an occupation that does not hold meaning for that person. In the OT profession, this manifests in the provision of rote activities that do not really relate to the goals or the client's interests.

• OTs can develop individualized activities tailored to the interests of the individual to maximize their potential.
• OTs can design, develop and promote programs that can be inclusive and provide a variety of choices that the individual can engage in.

Within occupational therapy practice, injustice may ensue in situations wherein professional dominance, standardized treatments, laws and political conditions create a negative impact on the occupational engagement of our clients.^[80] Awareness of these injustices will enable the therapist to reflect on his own practice and think of ways in approaching their client's problems while promoting occupational justice.

As occupational therapy (OT) has grown and developed, community-based practice has blossomed from an emerging area of practice to a fundamental part of occupational therapy practice (Scaffa & Reitz, 2013). Community-based practice allows for OTs to work with clients and other stakeholders such as families, schools, employers, agencies, service providers, stores, day treatment and day care and others who may influence the degree of success the client will have in participating. It also allows the therapist to see what is actually happening in the context and design interventions relevant to what might support the client in participating and what is impeding her or him from participating.^[83] Community-based practice crosses all of the categories within which OTs practice from physical to cognitive, mental health to spiritual, all types of clients may be seen in community-based settings. The role of the OT also may vary, from advocate to consultant, direct care provider to program designer, adjunctive services to therapeutic leader.^[83]

Nature-based interventions and outdoor activities may be incorporated into occupational therapy practice as they can provide therapeutic benefits in various ways. Examples include therapeutic gardening, animal-assisted therapy (AAT), and adventure therapy.^[84]

For instance, parents reported improvement in the emotional regulation and social engagement of their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a study of parental perceptions regarding the outcomes of AAT conducted with trained dogs.^[85] They also observed reductions in problematic behaviors. A source cited in the study found similar results with AAT employing horses and llamas.^[86]

Gardening in a group setting may serve as a complementary intervention in stroke rehabilitation; in addition to being mentally restful and conducive to social connection, it helps patients master skills and can remind them of experiences from their past.^[87] Royal Rehab's Productive Garden Project in Australia, managed by a horticultural therapist, allows patients and practitioners to participate in meaningful activity outside the usual healthcare settings.^[88] Thus, tending a garden helps facilitate experiential activities, perhaps attaining a better balance between clinical and real-life pursuits during rehabilitation, in lieu of mainly relying on clinical interventions. For adults with acquired brain injury, nature-based therapy has been found to improve motor abilities, cognitive function, and general quality of life. Contributing to a theoretical understanding of such successes in nature-based approaches are: nature's positive impact on problem solving and the refocusing of attention; an innate human connection with, and positive response to, the natural world; an increased sense of well-being when in contact with nature; and the emotional, nonverbal, and cognitive aspects of human-environment interaction.^[89]

Worldwide, there is a range of qualifications required to practice as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant. Depending on the country and expected level of practice, degree options include associate degree, Bachelor's degree, entry-level master's degree, post-professional master's degree, entry-level Doctorate (OTD), post-professional Doctorate (DrOT or OTD), Doctor of Clinical Science in OT (CScD), Doctor of Philosophy in Occupational Therapy (PhD), and combined OTD/PhD degrees.^[90]

In the United States, Canada, and other countries around the world, there is a licensure requirement. In order to obtain an OT or OTA license, one must graduate from an accredited program, complete fieldwork requirements, and pass a national certification examination.^[91]

The philosophy of occupational therapy has evolved over the history of the profession. The philosophy articulated by the founders owed much to the ideals of romanticism,^[92] pragmatism^[93] and humanism, which are collectively considered the fundamental ideologies of the past century.^[94][95][96]

One of the most widely cited early papers about the philosophy of occupational therapy was presented by Adolf Meyer, a psychiatrist who had emigrated to the United States from Switzerland in the late 19th century and who was invited to present his views to a gathering of the new Occupational Therapy Society in 1922. At the time, Dr. Meyer was one of the leading psychiatrists in the United States and head of the new psychiatry department and Phipps Clinic at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.^[97][98]

William Rush Dunton, a supporter of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy, now the American Occupational Therapy Association, sought to promote the ideas that occupation is a basic human need, and that occupation is therapeutic. From his statements came some of the basic assumptions of occupational therapy, which include:

• Occupation has a positive effect on health and well-being.
• Occupation creates structure and organizes time.
• Occupation brings meaning to life, culturally and personally.
• Occupations are individual. People value different occupations.^[32]

In the 1950s, criticism from medicine and the multitude of disabled World War II veterans resulted in the emergence of a more reductionistic philosophy. While this approach led to developments in technical knowledge about occupational performance, clinicians became increasingly disillusioned and re-considered these beliefs.^[99][100] As a result, client centeredness and occupation have re-emerged as dominant themes in the profession.^{[101][102][103]} Over the past century, the underlying philosophy of occupational therapy has evolved from being a diversion from illness, to treatment, to enablement through meaningful occupation.^[32]

Three commonly mentioned philosophical precepts of occupational therapy are that occupation is necessary for health, that its theories are based on holism and that its central components are people, their occupations (activities), and the environments in which those activities take place. However, there have been some dissenting voices. Mocellin, in particular, advocated abandoning the notion of health through occupation as he proclaimed it obsolete in the modern world. As well, he questioned the appropriateness of advocating holism when practice rarely supports it.^{[104][105][106]} Some values formulated by the American Occupational Therapy Association have been critiqued as being therapist-centric and do not reflect the modern reality of multicultural practice.^{[107][108][109]}

In recent times occupational therapy practitioners have challenged themselves to think more broadly about the potential scope of the profession, and expanded it to include working with groups experiencing occupational injustice stemming from sources other than disability.^[110] Examples of new and emerging practice areas would include therapists working with refugees,^[111] children experiencing obesity,^[112] and people experiencing homelessness.^[113]

Note that terminology differs between scholars. An incomplete list of theoretical bases for framing a human and their occupations include the following:

Generic models are the overarching title given to a collation of compatible knowledge, research and theories that form conceptual practice.^[114] More generally they are defined as "those aspects which influence our perceptions, decisions and practice".^[115]

• The Person Environment Occupation Performance model (PEOP) was originally published in 1991 (Charles Christiansen & M. Carolyn Baum^[116]) and describes an individual's performance based on four elements including: environment, person, performance and occupation. The model focuses on the interplay of these components and how this interaction works to inhibit or promote successful engagement in occupation.^[117]

Occupation-focused practice models

• Occupational Therapy Intervention Process Model (OTIPM) (Anne Fisher and others)
• Occupational Performance Process Model (OPPM)
• Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) (Gary Kielhofner and others)
  • MOHO was first published in 1980. It explains how people select, organise and undertake occupations within their environment. The model is supported with evidence generated over thirty years and has been successfully applied throughout the world.^[118]
• Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E)

This framework was originated in 1997 by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) as the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance (CMOP). It was expanded in 2007 by Palatjko, Townsend and Craik to add engagement. This framework upholds the view that three components—the person, environment and occupation- are related. Engagement was added to encompass occupational performance. A visual model is depicted with the person located at the center of the model as a triangle. The triangles three points represent cognitive, affective, and physical components with a spiritual center. The person triangle is surrounded by an outer ring symbolizing the context of environment with an inner ring symbolizing the context of occupation.^[119]

• Occupational Performances Model – Australia (OPM-A) (Chris Chapparo & Judy Ranka)
  • The OPM(A) was conceptualized in 1986 with its current form launched in 2006. The OPM(A) illustrates the complexity of occupational performance, the scope of occupational therapy practice, and provides a framework for occupational therapy education.^[120]
• Kawa (River) Model (Michael Iwama)
• Biopsychosocial models
  • Engel's biopsychosocial model takes into account how disease and illness can be impacted by social, environmental, psychological and body functions. The biopsychosocial model is unique in that it takes the client's subjective experience and the client-provider relationship as factors to wellness. This model also factors in cultural diversity as many countries have different societal norms and beliefs. This is a multifactorial and multi-dimensional model to understand not only the cause of disease but also a person-centered approach that the provider has more of a participatory and reflective role.^[121]
  • Other models which incorporate biology (body and brain), psychology (mind), and social (relational, attachment) elements influencing human health include interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB), polyvagal theory (PVT), and the dynamic-maturational model of attachment and adaptation (DMM). The latter two in particular provide detail about the source, mechanism and function of somatic symptoms. Kasia Kozlowska describes how she uses these models to better connect with clients, to understand complex human illness, and how she includes occupational therapists as part of a team to address functional somatic symptoms.^[122][123] Her research indicates children with functional neurological disorders (FND) utilize higher, or more challenging, DMM self-protective attachment strategies to cope with their family environments, and how those impact functional somatic symptoms.^[123]
  • Pamela Meredith and colleagues have been exploring the relationship between the attachment system and psychological and neurobiological systems with implications for how occupational therapists can improve their approach and techniques. They have found correlations between attachment and adult sensory processing, distress, and pain perception.^[124][125] In a literature review, Meredith identified a number of ways that occupational therapists can effectively apply an attachment perspective, sometimes uniquely.^[126]

• Biomechanical frame of reference
  • The biomechanical frame of reference is primarily concerned with motion during occupation. It is used with individuals who experience limitations in movement, inadequate muscle strength or loss of endurance in occupations. The frame of reference was not originally compiled by occupational therapists, and therapists should translate it to the occupational therapy perspective,^[127] to avoid the risk of movement or exercise becoming the main focus.^[128]
• Rehabilitative (compensatory)
• Neurofunctional (Gordon Muir Giles and Clark-Wilson)
• Dynamic systems theory
• Client-centered frame of reference
  • This frame of reference is developed from the work of Carl Rogers. It views the client as the center of all therapeutic activity, and the client's needs and goals direct the delivery of the occupational therapy process.^[129]
• Cognitive-behavioural frame of reference
• Ecology of human performance model
• The recovery model
• Sensory integration
  • Sensory integration framework is commonly implemented in clinical, community, and school-based occupational therapy practice. It is most frequently used with children with developmental delays and developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, Sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia.^[130] Core features of sensory integration in treatment include providing opportunities for the client to experience and integrate feedback using multiple sensory systems, providing therapeutic challenges to the client's skills, integrating the client's interests into therapy, organizing of the environment to support the client's engagement, facilitating a physically safe and emotionally supportive environment, modifying activities to support the client's strengths and weaknesses, and creating sensory opportunities within the context of play to develop intrinsic motivation.^[131] While sensory integration is traditionally implemented in pediatric practice, there is emerging evidence for the benefits of sensory integration strategies for adults.^[132][124]

• Busy work
• Occupational apartheid
• Occupational therapy and substance use disorder
• Occupational therapy in the management of cerebral palsy
• Occupational therapy in Greece
• Occupational therapy in the United Kingdom

American Occupational Therapy Association (2014c). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (3rd ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl. 1), S1–S48. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.682006 American Occupational Therapy Association (2017). Mental Health Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention in Occupational Therapy Practice. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 71(Suppl. 2). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.716S03 Christiansen, C. H., & Haertl, K. (2014). A contextual history of occupational therapy. In B. A. B. Schell, G. Gillen, & M. E. Scaffa (Eds.), Willard and Spackman's occupational therapy (12th ed., pp. 9–34).Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

• World Federation of Occupational Therapists

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