Facilitator of the Month| Pooja Jethani, Missouri, U.S.A.
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The following article is an open access article published in Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy in 2015. The link is provided for the same at the end of the post.
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Aims and issues addressed by this article:
The above article emphasizes the introduction of “sustainable practices” into the environmental aspect of occupational therapy employment. The article hopes to instill a sense of awareness amongst current Occupational Therapists to develop a “sustainability lens” in everyday practices. Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy organizations (WFOT, SAOT, COT) address the need for global outreach to understand the gravity of global health issues and collaborate to overcome them. This vision is the need of the hour as it is a major influence on health, both individually and as a community.
Search Strategy:
Recommended by a professor in a class on contemporary issues in OT, searched via Google Scholar
Issues addressed by the article, Why does it matter? How it fits to what already is known? How can it help solve important problems for practice?
The issue addressed in the article is that human beings are responsible for the environmental degradation, considering this aspect; it is our responsibility to take measures to improve environmental health by introducing sustainability. Unknowingly, we, as OT’s may harm the environment while providing treatment interventions by using materials or measures that are not conducive to environment. Sustainability blends into OT practices and can help improve the global environment. Addressing and taking charge of changing the global environmental conditions by creating awareness and modifying the way we practice is one of the substantial ways OT's can help solve the problem.
Design of the study
Descriptive; ecological
Main findings
Canada’s Federal Sustainable Development Act (2008) defines sustainability as ‘‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’’. The article introduces the concept of sustainability in environmental practices in OT and talks about the relevance of including this concept as a part of the basic models of OT. If our literature includes notions of sustainable OT practices, the concept will be more effective. Further, the article helps us adapt a sustainability lens and look at everything around us from a sustainable aspect. The authors believe that a change at the micro level by millions of people could bring about transformations at macro level. The article successfully describes ways to implement sustainability in everyday application of OT through examples and clinical reasoning strategies for everyone. It stresses on how Occupational Therapists are most suitable for this role to bring a change within the environment.
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Generalizability
The article hopes to develop better living conditions for our future generations by implementing modifications in the present. The examples mentioned in this article can easily be put into practice if considered each time we treat and generalized for OT in all settings and sub fields.
Implications
Adapting sustainability is easy; all we need to do is have a sustainable outlook for every time we practice. Some of the interesting methods mentioned in the article include recycling adaptive equipments, use of technology and tele-medicine to make paper less treatment sessions possible, use of local products, arranging public transport to enable access and improving environmental living conditions by planting plants. Use of these methods may not necessarily be time consuming; instead some of them may give us occupations and activities for our clients to incorporate in our therapy sessions. Occupational Therapists have a major role to play in environmental upliftment and helping create better conditions for the future.
Limitations
1- The author talks about how sustainability could be a part of our models as an aspect in environment but further information is required as to how and where is its place in our literature.
2- The article mentions various examples on implementing sustainable practices but a structured resource will be necessary in near future in order to include sustainable practices in OT interventions.
Conclusion
Although the concept of sustainability is crucial, it is not yet implemented by most countries of the world. In order to successfully bring sustainability in practice, it needs to be introduced at the root level, which is possible if we include it in our educational resources and advocate it to current and future OT’s. The authors insist that we think globally and act locally for our OT interventions. The authors believe that occupational therapy practitioners have the power to initiate change in their personal actions, their workplaces, their communities, and their governments to promote a sustainable and resilient future. By studying and researching, discussing, presenting articles on this topic, spreading awareness to other health professionals, Occupational Therapist can positively incorporate sustainability.
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Facilitator’s comments The concept of sustainability is relatively new and needs to be introduced in the basic practice models of OT, like Model of Human Occupation, Person environment occupation, Person environment occupation performance, ecology of human performance. It definitely has a place in everyday OT. Certain sustainable occupations like gardening or farming, planting trees, helping recycle, healthy habits like walking or biking can be a part of the treatment process of clients. Sustainability can be adapted in each and every thing if you develop an outlook for it. Organizations around the world are trying to make Earth a better place for us and our future generations. Let's join hands and work towards it.
Link for the article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0008417414566925?casa_token=Y6F5eWJ60nkAAAAA:WR-2WIiyiz7dFMWD3HlzvBo7M2xL73liFlwMMaCXATRAzZtN4aYgZ8-IV6N22c7r0GnOe_LFsXaH
Open access link for the article: A call for sustainable practice in Occupational Therapy
Link for WFOT's Guiding principles in sustainability in Occupational Therapy Practice, Education and Scholarship: https://www.wfot.org/resources/wfot-sustainability-guiding-principles
A special Thanks to the author Carole Dennis for providing us access to her article.
Hope you like the new perspective of Occupational Therapy in Environment!!
Please share your comments and ideas below!
About the facilitator - Pooja Jethani is a Master's in Occupational therapy( Neurosciences) from Mumbai and is currently a PPOTD candidate at Washington University in St. Louis.
I think recycling adaptive equipment is a key practical sustainable action. As OTs, we often see equipment no longer being used (such as trolley walkers doubling up as plant stands :) or large stocks of medications no longer being taken, sitting in cabinets !