Occupational therapy in the community: what, why, and how.

SUMMARY This paper discusses ways of defining community practice. It differentiates between the terms "community-based" and "community-built" and makes the argument that community-built occupational therapy practice is the best alternative.

Helping occupational therapy students and faculty develop cultural competence.

SUMMARY Given the need for health professionals, including occupational therapists, to be able to work with individuals and populations from a variety of cultures, this paper describes a qualitative study in which faculty and students from an occupational therapy program have been immersed in a community-built program serving African American, elderly citizens. Cultural competency and its measurement are addressed and used to assess positive results from the study.

Using chaos theory to understand a community-built occupational therapy practice.

SUMMARY Community-built occupational therapy programs interact with a wide range of systems. This interaction does not occur in an orderly manner, but in an unpredictable fashion. The use of chaos theory may help program developers understand actual and potential interactions that may occur. To illustrate the use of chaos theory, a case study is presented.

Quality of life issues in community occupational therapy practice.

SUMMARY Quality of life has long been purported to be an outcome of occupational therapy practice. Yet little outcome data is available illustrating the effectiveness of occupational therapy in enhancing quality of life. Recent authors have addressed health related quality of life issues. Community practice would also benefit from attention to global quality of life concepts and outcome measures. This article discusses global quality of life and reviews related outcome measures.

The experience of being an occupational therapist with a disability.

OBJECTIVE: This study addressed what it is like to practice as an occupational therapist with a disability. METHOD: Open-ended interviews using a phenomenological approach were conducted with 10 participants until data saturation was achieved. Each transcripted interview was coded for categories, and the common themes across transcripts were identified. RESULTS: These major themes were identified: "I am sensitive to their needs"; "The issue is how to cope with life"; and "Recognize your own strengths and limits." Each theme had several subcategories. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational therapists with disabilities approach their practice from a unique perspective and may be able to motivate and challenge clients in a different manner than therapists without disabilities. Therapists with disabilities perceive themselves as uniquely skilled persons who have developed successful strategies to cope with the experience of disability.