Occupational therapy is an area of the health profession that helps people to achieve the best possible results in functioning at activities involved in day-to-day living such as taking care of their physical well being, being productive and enjoying leisure activities. An occupational therapist helps a person gain or re-gain skills, that are required to complete everyday tasks. It is often needed when people have suffered an accident or injury, after surgery or during old age when they are less able to perform the tasks involved in an independent life.
The tasks (or occupations) may be required at home, a nursing facility or within the wider community. For instance a client may need help to drive to a shopping center or with mobility in areas within the wider community. An older client may need help with tasks such as bathing and grooming, socializing or walking without the risk of accidents.
Occupational therapy practice defines several Activities of Daily Living that a client may need help with while living their daily life. These include eating, bathing, going to the toilet, transferring (or the ability to get in or out of a bed or chair without assistance) and maintaining continence (bowel and bladder control). Other activities, called Instrumental Daily Activities, can include achieving mobility within a community and safety procedures that ensure the client can recognize and avoid potentially harmful situations.
Other tasks that are often considered important for the client that therapy can help with include being able to undertake education, employment, leisure activities and social interaction.
Occupational therapy programs are usually provided by hospitals, workplaces, schools, medical clinics, psychiatric institutions, nursing homes, various types of rehabilitation centres and by independent providers. Programs can be conducted in a client’s home or at a central location elsewhere in the community.
Such programs consist of training in mental tasks and physical activities such as improving balance, co-ordination and physical strength. Depending on the tasks that a client needs help with, a therapist will explain what they need to know and how to perform the task given their particular limitations. Occupational therapy can be required at any stage of life depending on mental and physical consequences that result from events that occur in a person’s life.
An important aspect of this health practice is the need to measure of the outcomes achieved for patients and to constantly monitor whether the interventions made result in a positive improvement in the health and quality of life for a patient.