Occupation and occupational therapy: Knowledge paradigms and everyday practice

Abstract

Aims: This article presents some preliminary findings from an action research study into the everyday practice of a group of occupational therapists working in a large metropolitan hospital delivering a range of acute services. Methods and Findings: Narrative data gathered from 10 individual interviews were analysed through numerous iterative cycles to reveal salient themes. These include epistemological tensions associated with working in a hospital environment, antagonistic reasoning processes, overinclusive descriptions of practice, and communication challenges. Conclusions: The findings suggest that occupational therapists in acute settings may experience challenges in describing occupational therapy and engaging in occupationbased practice. This is because of a range of factors, including, but not limited to, the paradigmatic conflict that arises between a profession informed by occupation and a predominantly biomedical setting. However, through in-depth, reflective processes undertaken collectively within a supportive community of practice milieu, significant changes in everyday practices can be activated.

Comunidade De Prática Em Terapia Ocupacional Para O Cuidado Em Saúde Mental Na Atenção Básica Em Saúde: Expectativas E Impactos

“…Assim, o desejo pelo fortalecimento da Terapia Ocupacional se apresentou como um grande motivador para as participantes, o que indica ainda que, embora já se tenha havido a consolidação da profissão no Brasil, no que tange à formação graduada (LANCMAN, 1998) e à inserção de profissionais nos serviços públicos, através de regulamentações ministeriais (BEIRÃO; ALVES, 2010), os profissionais ainda vivenciam dilemas de conhecimento e reconhecimento profissional no cotidiano do trabalho, nos quais investem esforços para resolver (WILDING; WHITEFORD, 2007).…”

Exchanging Knowledge Within a Community of Practice: Toward an Epistemology of Practice in Occupational Therapy Paediatric Hospital Care

“…As mentioned earlier, CoP can be combined with participatory action research projects to produce knowledge (DERDALL; MULHOLLAND; BROWN, 2010; WILDING; CURTIN; WHITEFORD, 2012;WILDING;WHITEFORD, 2007. A CoP involving paediatric occupational therapists working in hospital care was created and carried out over a seven-month period.…”

“…In this regard, communities of practice have been identified as a means to promote reflexive knowledge development among occupational therapists (KINSELLA; Exchanging knowledge within a community of practice: toward an epistemology of practice in Occupational Therapy paediatric hospital care WHITEFORD, 2012;WILDING;WHITEFORD, 2007WIMPENNY et al, 2010).…”

Critical dialogical approach: A methodological direction for occupation-based social transformative work

“…However, despite claims regarding occupational therapy's birth in social reform, scholars have argued that an early identification with medical rehabilitation diverted the profession from such social commitments [7,16,17]. As articulated by Pollard and Sakellariou, 'as a clinical practice concerned with medical conditions the profession was less concerned with the social history of inequality, which contributed to the distribution and experiences of illness and disability.…”