Since silence implies compliance with the status quo, the authors encourage occupational therapists to develop their own dialogue about occupational injustices in order to address them openly with others. Dialogue about occupational justice is timely as occupational therapists around the world articulate what distinguishes this numerically small, rather invisible profession and its contributions to individuals, populations, and societies.
Occupation, and its relationship with health and well‐being, is very complex. It can be described in many different ways by the profession within which it is so central that it provides its name. A simple way to talk about occupation that appears to appeal to a wide range of people is as a synthesis of doing, being and becoming. In the present paper I reflect on how a dynamic balance between doing and being is central to healthy living and wellness, and how becoming whatever a person, or a community, is best fitted to become is dependent on both. Doing is often used as a synonym for occupation within our profession and is so important that it is impossible to envisage the world of humans without it. Being encapsulates such notions as nature and essence, about being true to ourselves, to our individual capacities and in all that we do. Becoming adds to the idea of being a sense of future and holds the notions of transformation and self actualization. It is a concept that sits well with enabling occupation and with ideas about human development, growth and potential. Occupational therapists are in the business of helping people to transform their lives through enabling them to do and to be and through the process of becoming. In combination doing, being and becoming are integral to occupational therapy philosophy, process and outcomes, and some attention is given as to how we may best utilize these in self growth, professional practice, student teaching and learning, or towards social and global change for healthier lifestyles.
This paper discusses occupation as a central aspect of the human experience. It argues that occupation fulfils basic human needs essential for survival, provides the mechanism for people to exercise and develop innate capacities of a biological, social and cultural nature, to adapt to environmental changes, and to flourish as individuals. However the basic occupational needs of people have been obscured by the current complexity of occupational technology and economy, and the social strictures, divisions, and values which have been established progressively throughout time.Ann Wilcock is the Head of the School of Occupational Therapy, at the University of South Australia. She is currently researching the relationship between occupation, health, occupational therapy and health promotion with the
Addressing the question of what evidence there is for taking an occupational perspective of health, Wilcock argues that occupational science holds potential to improve the human condition and the environment by bringing together the diverse evidence being generated in many fields that address aspects of occupation and health. This possibility arises from the field's holistic nature, which encompasses the purpose and outcomes of humans' occupational nature, its interrelationship with health, and the outcomes of contemporary lifestyles. In supporting this vision, Wilcock cites evidence from history, health research, the directives of the World Health Organization, and occupational science itself.
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