"Anything that we have to learn to do we learn by the actual doing of it... We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate ones, brave by doing brave ones."
Aristotle Niconachean Ethics, Book II, p.9
Occupational studies is a term used to describe the collection of concepts surrounding occupation. This includes the values and philosophies of occupational therapy, occupational science, and the notion that humans are occupational beings.
Occupational therapy is a rehabilitation profession that utilizes therapeutic activities (occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation in roles, habits, and routines in the home, school, workplace, community, and other settings (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2014). The term occupational therapy practitioner is used interchangeably for occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistants.
Occupational therapy practitioners utilize therapeutic use of self to engage clients in valuable occupations within context; to design occupation-based intervention plans that:
- Facilitate change or growth in client factors (body functions, body structures values, beliefs, and spirituality)
- Develop skills (motor, process, and social interaction) needed for successful participation
- Encourage functional engagement through adaptations and modifications to the environment or objects within the environment when needed
- Provide techniques to clientele allowing for the acquisition of skills needed to promote health and wellness in their lives
- Provide techniques to clientele allowing for the acquisition of skills needed to promote health and wellness in their lives
Occupational science is a relatively new discipline that emerged in the late 1980s with the intent of providing a research base that would inform the clinical practice of occupational therapy (Pierce, 2014). At its core, it seeks to understand the relationship between humans, occupations, and health (Yerxa et al., 1989), including:
- Why people engage in occupations
- How people's occupations influence their health, well-being, and quality of life
- How people's health influences their occupational participation and performance
- How people's environments enable and/or prevent them from engaging in occupations
- How being deprived of opportunities to engage in occupations can affect people's health
Occupational science embraces a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on work from scholars in a variety of disciplines, including psychology, anthropology, sociology, and public health (Pierce, 2014). By advancing our understanding of the ways in which occupations influence the health of individuals and communities, the field of occupational science equips occupational therapy practitioners and other professionals with valuable information that can be used to address global health concerns and to advocate for occupational justice both locally and around the world.