Race Relations at Work: A Challenge to Occupational Therapy

Abstract

This article raises a few issues that prevail in the South African society which may interfere with therapeutic relationships in rehabilitation. Although it focuses on health matters, many of the racial issues discussed are not exclusive either to health or to South Africa. Suggestions that may facilitate communication between the various ethnic groups are proposed. Some of the interpretations and suggestions are the personal opinions of the author.

Being Prepared for Diversity in Practice: Occupational Therapy Students' Perceptions of Valuable Intercultural Learning Experiences

“…Theoretically, the collective literature has addressed concepts related to race, ethnicity and culture and occupational therapy (Shawski 1987, Sparling 1991, Evans 1992b, Hinajosa and Kramer 1992, Jungerson 1992, Kinebanian and Stomph 1992, Dyck 1993, Henare 1993, Matala 1993, Mirkoplous and Evert 1994, Hocking and Whiteford 1995, Jang 1995, Kelly 1995, Phipps 1995, Yeats 1995, Meghani-Wise 1996. Although this body of literature is, arguably, not as extensive as it should be, given our apparent focus on humans as occupational beings (Yerxa 1993, Wilcock 1998) and therefore as cultural beings, it still represents a contribution to the overall professional knowledge base.…”

The Aware Communicator: Dialogues on Diversity

“…Knowledge about many contextual and cultural issues is disseminated through these presentations. Contextual and cultural issues include: (a) gender (e.g., Baker & McKay, 2001;Froehlich et al, 1992;Parish et al, 1990), (b) race (e.g., Black, 2002;Cena et al, 2002;Matlala, 1993;Evans, 1992a;McIntosh, 1989), (c) class (e.g., Humphry, 1995;Jongbloed, 1998), (d) religion (e.g., Farrar, 2001;Gibbs & Barnitt, 1999;Low, 1997), (e) culture (e.g., MacDonald, 1998;Evans, 1992b), (f) disability (e.g., Benham, 1988;Eberhardt & Mayberry, 1995;Elliott et al, 1992;Froehlich, 1992;White & Olson, 1998), (g) sexual orientation (e.g., Williamson, 2000;Kelly, 2000;Jackson, 1995), and (h) age (Letvak, 2002). Through participation in the article presentations, students become more adept leaders by improving their speaking and groupfacilitation skills.…”

Transcultural Occupational Therapy in the United Kingdom: Concepts and Research

“…David's (1995) findings were unsuitable for statistical analysis so the study aimed at merely highlighting the emergent issues, namely the need to monitor ethnic mix for service planning; to empower black staff, swell their numbers and stop exploiting their cultural expertise; to communicate more effectively with the black communities; and to provide education and training both at undergraduate level and in the workplace. However, David (1995) failed to recognise the potential strength of his work, namely that his arguments were constantly reiterated in the national and international occupational therapy literature (Evans 1992,jungerson 1992, Correia 1993, Matlala 1993, Colston 1994, Mirkopoulous and Evert 1994, Ramaiah and Chen 1994. The merits of his research lay not in isolation but for their contribution or 'fittingness' (Burrows and Kendall 1997, p247) to the broader commentary on transcultural occupational therapy.…”

“…Furthermore, it has been argued that black people are increasingly subjected to 'white' or 'internalised white' research (Ahmad 1993, Matlala 1993, Stubbs 1993. With these arguments in mind, research into transcultural occupational therapy service development should not only involve, but also empower, people from ethnically diverse communities.…”