Occupational Justice

Occupational justice is a concept I have learnt about during various courses offered throughout this occupational therapy degree. In occupational therapy this concept concerns us as; it is “an evolving concept that describes a vision of society in which all populations have the opportunities, resources, privilege, and rights to participate to their potential in their desired occupations” (Wilcock & Townsend 2004, as cited in Whiteford & Townsend, 2011, p. 65). In relation to my topic I believe this principle therefore means that regardless of where you live you should have the same opportunities to access occupational therapy services. Therefore if you live in a remote area or an urban hub you should receive the same treatment and occupational therapy services. 

In reality this may not happen due to the accessibility to these services. There are many contributing factors for the reasons why occupational therapy services are inaccessible. These may include:

• No service within a particular geographical location
• The service is limited to a geographical area making it inaccessible to people outside of these boundaries
• Lack of occupational therapists in an area
• Lack of funding to allow services to meet the needs of people in remote areas
• Inability to make a way to occupational therapy services

These barriers are just some of the things that cause occupational injustice. As occupational therapists, by removing these barriers we are able to contribute to occupational justice being obtained.

Whiteford, G., & Townsend, E. (2011). Participatory occupational justice framework (POJF 2010): Enabling occupational participation and inclusion. In F. Kroneberg, N. Pollard, D. Sakellariou (Eds.), Occupational therapies without borders: Volume 2. Towards an ecology of occupation-based practices (pp. 65-84). Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone.