Understanding Policy Influences on Health and Occupation Through the Use of the Life Course Health Development (LCHD) Framework.

Life course health development (LCHD) is a framework that considers the transactional nature of risks and protective factors along the life trajectory and how this context influences health. Public policies, from health care to education to social services to labor laws, have many goals, including lessening and eliminating health disparities, yet inequities in health services and outcomes remain. Policy is a contextual factor that may be overlooked when examining influences on health and occupation.

Examining Intraprofessional Competencies for Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapy Assistant Collaboration.

This study examined competencies perceived by occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants as important for intraprofessional collaboration. While interprofessional practice is well defined, less is known about collaboration within professions with varied levels of practice credentials. Occupational therapy practitioners (N = 351) rated 20 competencies in four domains (Intraprofessional Teamwork, Roles/Responsibilities, Communication, and Values/Ethics) through an online survey.

Durable medical equipment reuse and recycling: uncovering hidden opportunities for reducing medical waste.

: The purpose of this study was to investigate hospital practices for the management of unwanted durable medical equipment (DME) and to understand how health care providers conceived of their role in preventing DME waste. In order to fully identify opportunities for DME waste prevention, we began this study at the point where health care providers prescribed patients DME.: We conducted a basic interpretive qualitative study in a large regional health care system in the United States employing semi-structured interviews and a focus group.

A pilot IPE workshop integrating OT, pharmacy, PT, and PA programs.

Background And Purpose: This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interprofessional education (IPE) experience.

Educational Activity And Setting: The IPE experience included 53 student learners from occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs at the University of the Sciences (USciences). This experience used an icebreaker activity and a stroke case-based activity as the activities within the workshop.

Expanding the Implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act for Populations With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: The Role of Organization-Level Occupational Therapy Consultation.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) provides standards and guidance for accessibility and accommodations that remove barriers to facilitate community social participation for individuals with disabilities. However, ADA implementation does not yet fully address the diverse access needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), who continue to face barriers to community social participation. This article explores the potential for occupational therapy practitioners to provide organization-level consultation as a means of maximizing community social participation among people with IDD.

Instilling positive beliefs about disabilities: pilot testing a novel experiential learning activity for rehabilitation students.

Purpose: To develop and test a novel impairment simulation activity to teach beginning rehabilitation students how people adapt to physical impairments.

Methods: Masters of Occupational Therapy students (n = 14) and Doctor of Physical Therapy students (n = 18) completed the study during the first month of their program. Students were randomized to the experimental or control learning activity.

Life Course Factors Associated with Initiation and Continuation of Exclusive Breastfeeding.

Introduction: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) benefits the life course health development of infants, families, and society. Professional health associations recommend EBF for 4 months, and many now recommend EBF for 6 months. Yet only 18.

Client Centeredness and Health Reform: Key Issues for Occupational Therapy.

Health reform promotes the delivery of patient-centered care. Occupational therapy's rich history of client-centered theory and practice provides an opportunity for the profession to participate in the evolving discussion about how best to provide care that is truly patient centered. However, the growing emphasis on patient-centered care also poses challenges to occupational therapy's perspectives on client-centered care.

Capstone projects as scholarship of application in entry-level occupational therapy education.

Capstone projects are integrative student learning experiences used in higher education. This article describes the value and merit of capstone projects as scholarship of application within an entry-level occupational therapy education program. The capstone process is outlined and roles and responsibilities of student, faculty members, and community mentors described.

Expanding client-centred thinking to include social determinants: a practical scenario based on the occupation of breastfeeding.

Background: Client-centred thinking in occupational therapy underemphasizes the influence of social determinants and societal-level factors on occupation across the life course. When client-centred thinking focuses solely on the local or immediate contexts of individuals, therapists may not fully recognize or understand how social determinants can create barriers to occupational participation and performance.

Aim/objectives: This article critically examines gaps in traditional thinking concerning client-centredness and demonstrates how the complex interplay between social determinants and societal-level factors may lead to occupational injustices.

Occupational therapy and breastfeeding promotion: our role in societal health.

Occupational therapists are part of multidisciplinary teams supporting infants with feeding and eating difficulties, including problems related to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding. We have the opportunity to expand our role in breastfeeding promotion by also defining breastfeeding as a child-rearing and health management and maintenance occupation and broadening our clientele to include health and wellness populations. The use of a health promotion approach enables occupational therapy practitioners to better address environmental and contextual barriers to engagement in breastfeeding, barriers also encountered by healthy populations.