Mapping intervention practices in social occupational therapy in Brazil

Abstract

Background. Social occupational therapy developed in Brazil in the late 1970s and early 1980s as an approach to questions and practices related to the social issues experienced by vulnerable populations.The aim of the study was to analyze the theoretical-methodological framework which has supported the practices and interventions of social occupational therapy in Brazil Method: In a scoping review following PRISMA-ScR, the following databases were searched for publications reporting the practices and interventions of social occupational therapy: Scopus, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) and The Cochrane Library.. Results: Twenty-six publications met the inclusion criteria. The interventions were aimed at socially vulnerable children and young people at risk of the violations of their rights. The studies employed active/participatory pedagogical methodologies which make the participant groups' protagonism central to their learning and intervention process. These approaches are supported by social and human science epistemologies.Conclusions: Social occupational therapy has inaugurated a paradigm shift by prioritizing the monitoring of populations in situations of vulnerability arising from socioeconomic, cultural, political and identity issues. This perspective is anchored in theoretical approaches which are strongly linked to collective social actions which arose from Brazil's dictatorial period. Significance.