Occupational therapists in Aotearoa responding to community need
Author: Grace Hannah
Supervisors: Jackie Herkt
Hannah, G. (2023). Occupational therapists in Aotearoa responding to community need. (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Occupational Therapy). Otago Polytechnic | Te Pūkenga, New Zealand. https://doi.org/10.34074/thes.6311
Abstract
Within occupational therapy, there is an increasing focus on integrating healthcare and community development practices to address issues of marginalisation and social injustice. Occupational therapists recognise their potential contribution to areas of community practice, utilising their occupational perspective to address contextual barriers facing communities, and enhancing opportunities for occupational engagement.
The primary aim of this research was to explore how Aotearoa-based occupational therapists respond to the occupational needs of communities and integrate their occupational perspective while working alongside communities. Utilising an interpretive descriptive methodology, interviews were carried out with five participants from a range of locations and communities throughout Aotearoa. Participants were asked to reflect on how their professional background informed the ways they work alongside their respective communities, factors that supported and challenged their practice, and their hopes for the future of community practices.
Participating therapists described working with a diverse range of communities, but uniformly identified the ‘doing’ perspective as the unique contribution they made as occupational therapists working in these roles. Participants emphasised how the occupational perspective grounded their professional identity, and enabled them to identify and respond to the different occupational needs present within their communities.
The findings revealed that therapists practising in community-responsive roles undergo a process of ‘being,’ ‘becoming,’ and ‘belonging.’ These roles challenge established ideas of what it means to ‘be’ an occupational therapist, and present a range of supports and challenges while ‘becoming’ a therapist who works with communities. Additionally, therapists must navigate where they ‘belong’ within the occupational therapy profession and broader social context.
This research has demonstrated how occupational therapists apply their ‘doing’ perspective to empower communities and increase opportunities for participation. It has also shown that validation and support from the occupational therapy profession are essential for these therapists to feel confident and enthusiastic about their unique contributions with Aotearoa communities. Recommendations from this research include raising awareness of community practices, engaging in critical reflection on underlying discourses informing occupational therapy practice and professional identity, and promotion of cultural safety and recognition of te ao Māori. It is hoped that these recommendations will support the development of community-responsive roles within Aotearoa.
Keywords
occupational therapy, community, responsiveness, emerging, community development
Licence
A copy of the thesis is publicly available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
