Occupation Analysis in Practice E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 725

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Occupation Analysis in Practice is the essential book for all future and current occupational therapists. It offers a practical approach to the analysis of occupations in real world practice.

The book frames occupation as the key component for analysis and builds upon previous work limited to analysis at the activity level. It examines the interests, goals, abilities and contexts of individuals, groups, institutions and communities, along with the demands of the occupation. It presents examples of occupation analysis in different practice context including working with children, health promotion, indigenous health, medico-legal practice; mental health and occupational rehabilitation.

The book has four sections. Section 1 introduces theoretical perspectives of the concept of occupation analysis and how such analysis relates to particular models of Occupational Therapy practice and the generic World Health Organisation International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Section 2 discusses analysis of particular components of occupation that support practice. These include culture, spirituality, home and community environments as well as self-care and leisure. Section 3 applies analysis of occupations to particular specialties encountered in practice. Section 4 considers the application of Occupation Analysis within professional reasoning and goal setting.

FEATURES

• International team of contributors
• Examples of occupation analysis proforma
• Application to a wide range of practice areas.
• Glossary of key terms
• Incudes the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

Leseprobe

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Notes on contributors

Preface

Purpose

Organisation

Language style and terms

PART I: Theoretical Perspectives on Occupation Analysis

Chapter 1: What is occupation analysis?

Concepts implicit within occupational therapy

Occupation: an occupational therapy perspective

Reviewing terms: occupation, activity and task

Areas of occupation

A traditional approach: activity analysis

A comprehensive approach: occupation analysis

The components of occupation analysis

The occupational relationship between the key, the keyhole/lock and the keystone

Chapter 2: Models to inform occupation analysis

Introduction

Brief recognition of the ICF (WHO, 2001)

‘Models’ in occupational therapy

Occupational therapy process models

Models of occupation and occupational therapy practice

Chapter 3: The relationship of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to occupation analysis

Introduction

Non-hierarchical nature of the ICF

Application of the ICF to occupation analysis

Limitations of the application of the ICF to occupation analysis

PART II: Analysing Relevant Components of Occupation that Underpin Practice

Chapter 4: Occupation analysis and spirituality

Introduction

Defining spirituality

Overview of spirituality in professional practice

The place of spirituality in occupational therapy philosophy

Incorporating spirituality into occupation analysis

Chapter 5: Cultural dimensions of occupation analysis

What is culture?

Basic dimensions of culture

How is culture learned and transmitted?

Culture and occupation analysis

Concepts to consider when analysing cultural components of occupation

Cultural dimensions in an occupation analysis

Best practice for including culture in occupation analysis

Chapter 6: Occupation analysis and the home and community environment

Introduction

What is the environment?

Theoretical concepts about the environment

Approaches to understanding the relationship of the environment to occupation

Impact of the environment on occupational health and ill-health

Home and neighbourhood environments

Occupation analysis of the home and neighbourhood environment and occupational therapy practice

Chapter 7: Analysing the occupation components of self-care

Introduction

Occupation analysis and self-care

The activities related to the occupation of self-care

The unique meaning of self-care

Self-care and the whole person

Environments and self-care

Instruments for measuring skills in self-care

Chapter 8: Occupation analysis and leisure occupations

Introduction

Relevance of leisure to occupational therapy practice

Leisure as a function of time

Definitions and meanings of leisure

Leisure and health

Types of leisure engagement

Review of leisure measurements

Occupation analysis of leisure

Personal characteristics of the leisure participant

Demands of the selected occupation

Balance of barriers and enablers to participation

Case example: occupation analysis of cricket for a group of young people with physical disabilities (Lee et al., 2008)

PART III: Application of Occupation Analysis to Specific Practice Contexts

Chapter 9: Children: analysing the occupation of play

Introduction

What is play?

Five facets of play

Chapter 10: Occupation analysis: cognition and acquired brain impairment

Introduction

Information processing and occupation

Observing information processing strategies during occupation

The Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform System of Task Analysis

Using the PRPP System of Task Analysis for observation of occupational performance

‘Perceive’: observing sensory processing strategies during occupational performance

Observation of Mary: perceive

‘Recall’: observing strategies used for storage and retrieval of information during task performance

Assessment: recall

Observation of Rose: recall

‘Plan’: processing information for organising and problem solving

Assessment: ‘plan’

Observation of David: ‘plan’

‘Perform’: processing output and performance feedback

Assessment: ‘perform’

Chapter 11: Dementia and occupation analysis

Introduction

What is dementia?

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia

Occupation analysis and dementia

Chapter 12: Occupation analysis and falls prevention

Introduction

Definitions of falls

Risk factors for falls

Relevance of falls prevention in occupational therapy practice

Review of common measures used to assess falls risk

Occupation analysis for people at risk of falls

Person-related aspects of occupation analysis for older people at risk of falls

Environmental aspects of occupation analysis for older people at risk of falls

Chapter 13: Indigenous peoples and occupation analysis*

Introduction

Contexts affecting indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples and occupation analysis

Occupation from an indigenous perspective

Chapter 14: Medico-legal assessments

Introduction and background to medico-legal assessments

Occupation analysis and medico-legal practice

The occupational therapy assessment process

Occupation analysis and medico-legal assessments

Chapter 15: Creating occupational engagement to maximise recovery in mental health

Introduction

Activity and occupation

A brief history of activity analysis in mental health

Clinical/professional reasoning

The recovery model

Working with mental health service users: recovery-oriented occupation analysis

Chapter 16: Occupation analysis and occupational rehabilitation

Introduction

Work and occupational rehabilitation

The ICF, occupational rehabilitation and occupation analysis

Applying occupation analysis in occupational rehabilitation

Occupation analysis, activity analysis and task analysis

Occupation analysis and the worker

Occupation analysis and the workplace

Occupation analysis, the worker and the workplace

Chapter 17: Public health and health promotion

Introduction

An orientation to public health

Focusing on determinants and disparities

Occupational therapy and public health

An occupation analysis perspective of public health

Who is implicated?

Human and environmental influences

Sectoral analysis

Sustainability and occupational issues

Occupational synthesis

Case study: the physical activity of children

Implications for practice

Chapter 18: Motor aspects of upper limb functioning and occupation analysis

Occupational therapy: people with upper limb impairment

Occupation analysis: the upper limb performance assessment

Upper limb performance assessment Stage One: Task Performance Mastery

ULPA Stage Two: Comparative Analysis of Performance – Motor

Chapter 19: Occupation analysis and successful ageing

Introduction

Defining ageing

Occupation-based intervention for successful ageing

Theories of ageing

Successful ageing and the ICF

Key body systems and structures affecting occupations in older age

Activity and participation affecting occupations in older age

Environmental factors affecting occupations in older age

Personal factors affecting occupations in older age

Occupation and successful ageing

Occupational transitions as part of successful ageing

PART IV: The Interface Between Aspects of Practice and Occupation Analysis

Chapter 20: The importance of professional thinking and reasoning in occupation analysis

Introduction

Overall goals, outcomes and processes used within occupational therapy practice

Professional thinking and reasoning

The benefits of ‘voicing’ professional thinking and reasoning

Practice in context

Professional reasoning studies

Expanding three-track reasoning

Analysing the personal professional thinking and reasoning of a therapist

Using a narrative to apply professional thinking and reasoning to a person

Chapter 21: Setting and evaluating person-centred goals: an outcome of occupation analysis

Introduction

Framing person-centred goals and outcomes: engagement in occupation

Person-centred approach determining goals

Framing the goal setting process: a person-centred perspective

Collaborating with clients: setting goals and evaluating outcomes

Goal setting: a meaningful activity for all clients?

Appendices: Analysing occupations: useful resources

Appendix A: Chapter 1: A proforma for occupational therapists when conducting an occupation analysis

Appendix B

Appendix C: Chapter 4: Spirituality

A resource for occupational therapists when exploring spirituality within an occupation analysis

Appendix D: Chapter 4: Culture

A useful resource when considering culture within an occupation analysis

Appendix E: Chapter 6: Environment

Developing a proforma for occupational therapists when conducting an occupation analysis focusing on environments: built and natural

Appendix F: Chapter 7: Self-care

Analysing the occupational domain of self-care: a unique and personal analysis.

Appendix G: Chapter 8: Leisure

A resource for occupational therapists when analysing the domain of leisure

Appendix H: Chapter 12: Falls

Occupation analysis and people at risk of experiencing a fall

Appendix I: Chapter 17

Public health and health promotion

Appendix J: A proforma for analysing occupations in practice

Public health issues or health promotion

Glossary

Index

This edition first published 2011. © 2011 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Occupation analysis in practice / edited by Lynette Mackenzie and Gjyn O'Toole. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-7738-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Occupational therapy. I. Mackenzie, Lynette. II. O'Toole, Gjyn. [DNLM: 1. Occupational Therapy. WB 555] RM735.O218 2011 615.8′515–dc22 2010039589

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDF 9781444339963; ePub 9781444339970

This book is dedicated to all current and future occupational therapists who will aim to assist people to engage in meaningful occupations.

Notes on contributors

Samantha Ashby Samantha Ashby initially trained in the United Kingdom, completing qualifications in both Occupational Therapy and Remedial Health. She has worked in various occupational therapy settings, and has particular experience in the area of dementia. She has researched, studied and taught in both the United Kingdom and Australia. She has conducted educational workshops in various places both internationally and in Australia. She is currently lecturing at the University of Newcastle, Australia, while completing her doctoral studies. She is examining the professional journeys and resilience of occupational therapists working in mental health, along with the theoretical knowledge valued and used by experienced occupational therapists in mental health practice.

Ruth Beltran Ruth is a lecturer in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Sydney, Australia. She gained clinical experience in orthopaedics, neurology, paediatrics and developmental disability in the Philippines and psychiatry and mental health in the Philippines and Australia. Prior to joining Cumberland College of Health Sciences and then the University of Sydney, Ruth taught at the Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Medical Profession, University of the Philippines. She has consulted and conducted educational projects in Thailand, Philippines and Singapore. In addition, she has held executive positions in occupational therapy professional associations in both the Philippines and Australia. Ruth has researched, published and presented papers in the areas of refugee trauma, fieldwork education and psychosocial perspectives in occupational therapy. She co-authored a book titled \textit{Occupational Therapy, Culture, and Mental Health}. Her PhD research on enduring personality change after catastrophic experience is published in international psychiatric journals. She is also a bilingual sessional clinician with the Transcultural Mental Health Centre in Sydney working with Filipino consumers.

Anita Bundy Anita C Bundy is Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney, Australia. She has been actively involved in the development of assessments of play and their analysis for almost two decades. She is the author of the \textit{Test of Playfulness (ToP}) and the \textit{Test of Environmental Supportiveness (TOES}) published in the second edition of \textit{Play in Occupational Therapy for Children.}

Christine Chapparo Christine Chapparo is a senior lecturer with teaching, administrative and research responsibilities in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research has focused on the impact of sensory and cognitive disturbance on the occupational performance of children and adults with neurological impairment. With colleagues at the University of Sydney, she has developed theoretical models and ecological measures to determine the impact of information processing deficits on human performance within community contexts and the effect of intervention. She is also co-author of the Occupational Performance Model (Australia), now published in several languages and used in occupational therapy practice, research and education in Australia and elsewhere.

Michelle Fussell Michelle Fussell is a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy programme from the University of Newcastle, Australia. During her studies, through both practical exposure and theoretical exploration she developed a particular interest in the area of dementia. Her final year major project focused on the needs of people experiencing dementia, including both paid and unpaid carers, and resulted in the development of a programme designed to educate and support those carers. While Michelle is currently working in paediatrics, she is aware that in the future she will work in various settings and hopes to do that in other parts of the world.

Clare Hocking Clare Hocking has written and published since the mid 1980s, on topics ranging from anger management to assistive devices and more recently occupational science. Within that diversity, a continuing thread has been what occupational therapists might do, and the knowledge and values that support their actions. In her chapter, Clare brings practical wisdom to bear on Ann Wilcock's vision that occupational therapists will extend their practice beyond disability to serve the health needs of the communities in countries where members of the profession strive to make a difference.

Carole James Carole James originally graduated from the College of OT in London. She has worked in a variety of workplace injury management and occupational rehabilitation roles in both the private and public sectors in Australia. Carole currently works as a senior lecturer and researcher in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Newcastle, specifically in the Discipline of Occupational Health and Safety, and within Occupational Therapy. She is currently programme convenor for the postgraduate programmes in Workplace Injury Management and Occupational Rehabilitation and Occupational Health and Safety. She has expertise and interests in the areas of workplace injury management, injury prevention, functional capacity evaluations, risk assessments, ergonomics and the rehabilitation of injured workers. She is currently enrolled in a PhD programme (Occupational Therapy).

Anne McIntyre Anne McIntyre is a lecturer in Occupational Therapy in the School of Health Science and Social Care at Brunel University, UK. Anne qualified in 1980 and initially specialised in neurological rehabilitation, and more recently in community rehabilitation of older people. She has worked in acute physical services and with children with movement disorders. Anne teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses focusing on occupational performance, the enabling of health and wellbeing through occupation, occupation analysis, successful ageing as well as the use of outcome measures and the use of the ICF developed by the World Health Organisation, within occupational therapy practice. Anne is also involved in the teaching of CPD courses on work rehabilitation. She has an MSc in Neurological Rehabilitation and her doctoral research explores the experiences of falls by older people with dementia, and their carers. She is involved with the College of Occupational Therapists in the use of the ICF in practice in the United Kingdom and is part of a WFOT research team examining the use of the ICF internationally. Anne has presented at national and international conferences, published in professional journals and~book chapters~in allied health texts. She is co-editor, with Anita Atwal, of \textit{Occupational Therapy and Older People}, published by Blackwell.

Elizabeth McKay Dr Elizabeth McKay is Head, Department of Occupational Therapy, at the University of Limerick. She began her occupational therapy career working in Edinburgh, Scotland, in a range of mental health settings including acute in-patient, rehabilitation and forensic contexts. Throughout, she has continued to develop her range of expertise by working with therapists and students in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, on subjects related to advancing mental health practice. She has several key interests: the perspective of service users of mental health services; the lived experience of people with mental health issues; social exclusion; participatory and action research along with clinical reasoning and reflective practice.

Lynette Mackenzie Lynette Mackenzie is a senior lecturer in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy at the University of Sydney, and a conjoint senior lecturer in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle, both in NSW, Australia. Having worked clinically with a wide range of rehabilitation services in hospital and community settings in the United Kingdom and Australia, Lynette has developed teaching and research interests in occupational therapy theory and assessment, ageing, falls prevention, home and community environments and the professional development of occupational therapy students. Lynette's doctoral work focused on developing preventative strategies for older people living in the community to enhance their health and wellbeing and prevent falls and injury, and the Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool was one of the outcomes of this research. Lynette has continued to investigate the needs of older people in the community by involvement in analysing data from population-based cohorts across Australia including the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health, the 45 and Up Study in NSW and the Melbourne Study of Healthy Ageing. Lynette has also supervised research students investigating a range of topics concerned with professional issues and the functioning of older people.

Gjyn O'Toole Gjyn O'Toole completed her qualifications in Occupational Therapy in Sydney, Australia. In her capacity as an occupational therapist, she has worked in various settings including acute care, rehabilitation, community care and health promotion. In these settings, she assisted people with various conditions and occupational needs. These included neurology, rheumatology, amputations, orthopaedics, paediatrics, mental health, the elderly, occupational rehabilitation, medico-legal settings and management. She is currently lecturing at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where she follows interests in cultural inclusivity, person-centred practice and reflective practice. She has consulted and taught occupational therapy in Fiji, China and Iran, and run workshops and lectures on cultural inclusivity, quality education and research in South Africa, Uganda and Kenya. She is the author of \textit{Communication: Core interpersonal Skills for Health Professionals}, Elsevier.

Steve Park Steve Park is a doctoral candidate in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he is investigating the quality of free time for adults experiencing HIV/AIDS. In the United Kingdom, he leads continuing professional development courses for OT practitioners and interdisciplinary teams. He is a former associate professor from the School of Occupational Therapy, College of Health Professions, Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, USA. His areas of interest in occupational therapy are older adults, leisure, evaluation of client-centred outcomes and environmental influences on human occupation.

Judy Ranka Judy Ranka is a lecturer in the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of Sydney, Australia, where she teaches units of study that focus on occupational therapy theory, occupation and performance analysis and occupational therapy assessment and intervention for clients whose occupational performance is compromised by upper limb impairment and/or cognitive and perceptual impairment. Ms. Ranka's recent research has focused primarily on the impact of cognitive disturbance on occupational performance and the development of occupation-embedded measures of upper limb performance. With colleagues at the University of Sydney, she has developed a theoretical model and ecological measures to determine the impact of information processing deficits on human performance within hospital, home and community contexts, and the effect of intervention. She is also co-author of the Occupational Performance Model (Australia), now published in several languages and used in occupational therapy practice, research and education in Australia and elsewhere.

Katie Robinson Katie Robinson is a lecturer in Occupational Therapy at the University of Limerick. She has worked as an occupational therapist across a number of practice settings in Ireland, including an in-patient mental health service. Her research interests include the development of critical approaches to occupational therapy service delivery. She is currently nearing completion of her doctoral study that explores lifestyle redesign in relation to pain management.

Susan Ryan Susan Ryan is the Professor of Occupational Therapy and Deputy Head of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She graduated from Sydney University, Australia. Susan has worked as an academic in two universities in London, UK; and in Cork, Ireland; before coming to Newcastle in 2007. Her research interests lie in developing clinical reasoning and consequent reflections and reflexivity. Narrative analysis is her particular forte. Currently, she is researching the `Generation Y' phenomenon as applied to occupational therapy and health care in general.

Claudia Walker Claudia Walker graduated from the Occupational Therapy programme at the University of Alberta in 1987. Since that time she has worked in Arctic Canada in both hospital and community-based rehabilitation, before migrating to Australia in 1990. She then worked for CRS Australia (Albury) in workplace rehabilitation specialising in workplace ergonomics and driver rehabilitation for three years. Claudia was then appointed as an inaugural academic member of staff in the new Occupational Therapy programme with Charles Sturt University, where she stayed for eight years. A one-year sojourn took place in Canada where she worked again in community rehabilitation before returning to workplace rehabilitation. Since 1994 she has been in private practice in Newcastle, Australia, specialising in medico-legal assessments or `forensic' Occupational Therapy. Claudia also does clinical occupational therapy for private clients and charitable organisations in her local community.

Lesley Wilson Lesley Wilson graduated as an occupational therapist in 1982 from Oxford in the United Kingdom and has held clinical and senior managerial positions in a variety of health and social service settings, including work with children, people with long-term disabilities and older adults. As a lecturer in occupational therapy since 1996, she has taught and supervised research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, nationally and internationally. She has a strong interest in the global perspective of occupational therapy. Her research interests include the relationship between mind and body, the spiritual dimensions of what we do and how these relate to health and wellbeing, both as therapists and clients. She has published a number of papers, contributed to book chapters and presented at national and international conferences.

Preface

Purpose

Occupation Analysis is a term used in various Occupational Therapy circles, with a variety of meanings. This book seeks to contribute to discussion about this concept. It hopes to broaden understanding of activity analysis to include analysis at an occupation level. It anticipates that such analysis will encourage occupational therapists to make judgements about interventions based on an accurate and responsive analysis of meaningful and relevant occupations. Currently most publications focus on the activity level of analysis. The editors would argue, however, that person/or client-centred practice demands an occupation level analysis of the needs of people encountered in practice, as it is occupation that is associated with personal meaning, action and feelings.

The multiple opinions around the world about this concept made the production of this book a complex task. The various definitions of and understandings about the relationship between Occupation, Activity and Task also contributed to this complexity. While it is probably impossible to reach consensus about these concepts, it is important to contribute to the body of knowledge informing the profession about these important aspects of Occupational Therapy practice. Various chapters within the book reflect the differing opinions about occupation and present varying foci. They, in fact, indicate the reality that the expectations of service contexts affect the focus of practice and the application of Occupation Analysis in practice.

This book is intended for students and new graduates still grappling with the concepts and as such it does not intend to make a definitive final contribution to the discussion. Rather, it is designed to stimulate thought and discussion on practice issues related to these concepts. Learning points throughout may guide and stimulate this discussion.

International perspectives may vary on this topic and thus the book attempts to explore facets of analysing occupation that may challenge readers from a Western tradition. The editors aim to challenge readers to explore and examine occupation outside of their own cultural experiences and assumptions.

Organisation

The book has four sections. The first introduces theoretical perspectives of the concept of occupation analysis and how such analysis relates to particular models of Occupational Therapy practice and the generic World Health Organisation, ICF. The second section discusses analysis of particular components of occupation that support practice. These include culture, spirituality and environment as well as the occupational areas of self-care and leisure. These components of occupation impact both service users and service providers in daily practice regardless of the context. The third section applies analysis of occupations to common areas of practice or foci of practice. It cannot cover all areas of practice, but attempts to discuss both well-established and developing areas in occupational therapy practice. This section is organised alphabetically as one area is not considered more important than another. The final section considers the interface between two important aspects of daily practice and occupation analysis; reasoning and setting goals. This section also includes possible resources or guidelines for development of possible resources that might facilitate an occupation analysis or an in-depth exploration of a particular component of an occupation analysis

Language style and terms

Where possible the book intentionally uses a professional writing style, thus creating greater clarity and succinct expression. This was done to model characteristics of professional writing for readers. This style typically uses active voice, simple present tense and modals and avoids the use of first- or second-person pronouns, as well as apostrophes, whether indicating possession or shortening of words. The sentence structure avoids finishing a sentence with verbs, prepositions and conjunctions. This style also potentially makes the book accessible to people who may not have English as their first language.

The editors chose to use the term context instead of environment as they felt the term context applied to all the chosen features that typically support for occupations. They have also chosen (in most cases) to use the word person instead of patient or client. This choice attempts to emphasise the reality that the people occupational therapists assist are in fact people first and foremost and continue to be, regardless of the reason for seeking the assistance of an occupational therapist.

Please enjoy using this book.

PART I

Theoretical Perspectives on Occupation Analysis

Chapter 1

What is occupation analysis?

Gjyn O’Toole

Chapter outline

An occupation analysis requires an understanding of the centrality of the concept of occupation from an occupational therapy (OT) and occupational science perspective. This chapter considers that engagement in occupations occurs because individuals, groups and communities possess skills or values that facilitate choice and performance of specific occupations within particular contexts. The chapter proposes six innate intrinsic elements and seven environmental contexts that influence performance of occupations. Occupation analysis explores the transactional relationship between three components of occupational performance: the occupation itself; the participating individual, group or community and the contexts surrounding the occupational participation.

Chapter objectives

The reader should be able to:

Define occupation from an OT perspective.Recognize differences between occupation, activity, task and action.Identify and explain the ‘areas of occupation’ defined by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 2008.Explain the need for an occupation analysis.State and connect the components of an occupation analysis.Outline the occupation analysis process.

Concepts implicit within occupational therapy

Occupational therapists are concerned about the needs, desires, experiences and expectations of individuals and/or groups and the role of occupation in meeting those needs and achieving those expectations. Until the late twentieth century a major focus of OT practice was the therapeutic use of occupations to improve skills and occupational performance. The late twentieth century saw a growing understanding of the purpose and power of occupation in influencing health, wellbeing and participation in life (Wilcock, 2006). This understanding supports the use of occupation as an intervention and facilitates the unique synthesis of knowledge from various fields into a scholarly discipline known as occupational science. Occupational science is dedicated to examining the form, function and meaning of occupations (Zemke & Clark, (1996). Occupation became more than using objects for therapeutic benefit or successful performance of an activity. It became a force that potentially empowers engagement and performance, thereby contributing to and maintaining health, participation and a sense of wellbeing. Thus, occupational therapists believe that appropriate engagement in relevant occupations has the potential to structure, shape and transform the lives of individuals, groups and communities. In order to analyse occupation in the lives of people with occupational needs, it is necessary to explore this concept.

Occupation: an occupational therapy perspective

There are various definitions for the word ‘occupation’. Reflection upon definitions found in OT literature contributes to understanding the concept of occupation from this perspective.

Learning Point

Stage One: Consider the definitions below, or other definitions of occupation found in OT literature. Choose or create a favourite definition and provide a rationale for this definition.