Transcending the individual: The promise and potential of collectivist approaches in occupational therapy

No Thumbnail Available
File version
Author(s)
Malfitano, Ana Paula Serrata
Whiteford, Gail
Molineux, Matthew
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2019
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract

Background: In a globalised world, with injustices and inequities, occupational therapists have a moral and ethical obligation to use their knowledge and skills to work at a collective level with groups, communities, and populations rather than focus solely on individualistic approaches. Objectives: To review the literature exploring the question: What do occupational therapists do in their everyday practice that could be characterised as having a collectivist orientation? Method: A scoping review with searches on Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL databases with the keywords ‘occupational therapy’ AND collectiv*. Results: 161 articles were found and after screening of abstracts and/or full text, 19 were included. Articles were published in English (13) and Portuguese (6), in 12 different journals and one book, from 1988 to 2018. They were categorised as focussing on: social welfare–collectivism (n = 2); collective occupations (n = 11); and collective oriented practices (n = 6). Conclusion: A clear definition of collectivist approaches in occupational therapy practice was not found. What was evident, however, was a focus on experiential accounts of working with groups of people and the methods and processes utilised. It is argued that occupational therapy needs to further develop knowledge and practices aimed at injustices grounded in a collectivist epistemology.

Journal Title

Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
Issue
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
Item Access Status
Note

This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.

Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Clinical sciences

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Rehabilitation

Collectivist approaches

praxis

Persistent link to this record
Citation

Malfitano, APS; Whiteford, G; Molineux, M, Transcending the individual: The promise and potential of collectivist approaches in occupational therapy, Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2019

Collections