Occupational Therapy’s Role in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Through Occupational Justice

Goals & Objectives:

Course Goals:

A hallmark of occupational justice-focused theory, evaluation, intervention, and outcomes is that they target policies and contextual factors to increase opportunities for occupational engagement. Occupational therapists can use this knowledge as a barometer for exploring how they might adapt their practice to increase focus on occupational justice. Building awareness about existing systems of oppression can help occupational therapists adopt informed approaches for addressing systemic occupational injustices.  

Seeking and welcoming opportunities for anti-racism and implicit provider bias training can further support occupational therapists working toward more occupational justice-centered approaches to care. An important first step in this work is willing to recognize a problem exists, and being willing to undertake a lifelong journey toward uncovering and addressing bias in order to engender positive change.  The reader is encouraged to complete the learning activities that follow to broaden their skill set with justice-centered approaches to occupational therapy service delivery.  

Learning Outcomes:

Upon the completion of this course, the learner will be able to: 

• Differentiate applications of the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework (POJF) and the Framework of Occupational Justice (FOJ). 
  
• Explain the impacts of systemic oppression in the form(s) of racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, colonialism, cisgenderism, and gender binarism.  
  
• Distinguish what it means to use disability studies as a methodology and explain for whom disability studies methodological approaches apply.  
  
• Articulate several assessment tools, the constructs they measure, and their relationships to occupational justice.