Cultural Context In Occupational Therapy

An occupation is an activity that comprises specific goals and meaning for an individual (AOTA, 2014, p. S5). These meaningful occupations can impact well-being and can even become part of person’s identity. To understand this relationship of impact that occupations have on people, occupational science (OS) was formed. OS is used by researches to explain how occupations are experienced and shaped by external factors, some factors may even be an identifying factor for a client such as culture (Pierce, 2014). Culture is considered an external and internal factor that shapes activity patterns, behaviors, and beliefs which in turn shapes how occupations are performed by an individual (AOTA, 2014). It is through OS that researchers are able to study

In addition, occupational science research regarding culture can help inform practice techniques, approaches, and interventions of working with clients of various cultures to increase cultural competence and build rapport. Culture is an important personal aspect, so much so that it is taken into consideration by the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework as a context. Cultural context in occupational therapy is viewed as an influence within and around the individual that can be a valued part of identity and can impact activity choices (OTPF3). Keeping in mind the importance and impact of culture on occupations helps to inform the practitioner to bring forth a fitting client-centered approach to therapy. A better fit therapy increases rapport and the therapeutic alliance between client and therapist because both individuals will feel a better sense of understanding. For example, the occupation of eating is a known universal across cultures but the way that the occupation is performed may look different to other cultures (i.e.time of day, eating with others or not, utensils used, or how eating takes place) could be considered by a therapist to make therapy more relevant to the client’s everyday and culturally inclusive life. Another consideration could be to check and make sure the therapist is not pushing their cultural values of occupational therapy on the client. For example, the value placed on independence in occupational therapy may not be congruent with how clients from a collectivist culture view independence(Dickie, 2004). Realization of this incongruence sparked the creation of a culturally inclusive model of practice, the Kawa model, to take into consideration both collectivist and individualistic cultures (Kronenberg, 2005). Being aware and knowledgeable of the unique complexity that culture can shape occupations and choosing relevant models to