Institutional Injustices: Applying Occupational Justice Theory to Occupational Therapy Practice

Background: Occupational justice theory highlights the basic human right to engage in meaningful occupation to sustain health and quality of life (Wilcock and Townsend, 2000) and is implicit in occupational therapy’s social... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Occupational justice theory highlights the basic human right to engage in meaningful occupation to sustain health and quality of life (Wilcock and Townsend, 2000) and is implicit in occupational therapy’s social vision (Whiteford and Townsend, 2011) to the extent that the role and responsibility of occupational therapists in highlighting occupational injustices is enshrined in the World Federation of Occupational Therapy’s Position Statement on Human Rights (2006). However, occupational justice theory remains disconnected from occupational therapy practice with a need for further examples applying occupational justice (Durocher et al, 2014). This study presents a practical example of the application of occupational justice models in practice.

Method:
Qualitative interviews were conducted with two individuals with enduring mental illness, resident in an institution. Data analysis was conducted from a qualitative description approach (Neergard et al, 2009). Ethical approval was received for this study.

Results:
The following occupational injustices are highlighted and described in this case of a psychiatric institution relating to the Stadnyk et al. (2010) framework: occupational alienation; occupational deprivation; occupational marginalisation and occupational imbalance. Whiteford and Townsend’s model (2011) is used to reflect on these occupational injustices critically, and the roles and responsibilities of the occupational therapist are highlighted.

Conclusion:
Practical applications of occupational justice models not only bridge the gap between science and practice but empower occupational therapists to highlight injustices in individual and population-based practice scenarios.

Application to Practice:
This presentation applies the theory of occupational justice to occupational therapy practice.