the inequality and diversity issues that influence over the context within which people live and work .
Occupational justice practices can be applied on a micro ( individual ), meso ( community ) and macro level ( population ) ( Bailliard et al 2020 ). Our Think Pacific action projects fell more in line with justice-orientated practice on the meso and macro level .
On the meso level , three students created community-level educational resources to target occupational needs .
Orla Kelly developed resources aiming to educate Fijian girls and women on menstruation and menstrual hygiene management . Orla Bagnall created social media materials to educate and raise awareness on mental health and suicide prevention awareness , aimed at youths , men , women and the LGBT + community of Fiji .
Naomi Hanna created online wellness materials that included education and promotion of five ways to wellness during COVID-19 .
On a macro level , Mikaela Williams created a report advocating for non-medicinal approaches to mental illness that could be used to raise awareness among policy makers about the importance of alternative approaches to mental health provision in Fiji .
Overall , this placement has shown us that occupational therapy is so much more than working with individuals . It has made us rethink what our preconceived ideas were of the role of occupational therapy .
Although we all took on very different projects , we came to the same conclusion about our learning . It was important to ensure that we were culturally aware , non-judgmental about what we saw and learned through our westernised views and ideas .
We learned that our cultural bias could influence the development of our action projects and this could unintentionally act as a barrier for people ’ s engagement . Occupational therapy can be applied to groups , communities and populations where bigger picture thinking is needed .
Perhaps the biggest learning for all of us was that occupational therapy is so much more than a clinical one-to-one setting , having relevance and meaning across communities and populations .
In turn , we learned that occupational justice has relevance in groups , communities and population settings , as it enhances our thinking
about the issues these groups face . Going forward , we are keen to ensure that an occupational justice focus forms part of our day-to-day practice with individuals , communities and populations and ultimately becomes part of our daily subconscious .
Bailliard AL , Dallman AR , CarrollA , Lee BD , Szendrey S ( 2020 ) Doing occupational justice : a central dimension of everyday occupational therapy practice . Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy , 87 ( 2 ): 144-152 .
Hammell K ( 2017 ) Opportunities for wellbeing : The right to occupational engagement . Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy . 84 ( 4-5 ): 209-222 .
Stanyk R , Townsend E , Wilcock A ( 2013 ) Occupational justice . In : Christiansen , C and Townsend , A ( ed ) Introduction to occupation : the art and science of living ( 2nd ed ). Upper Saddle River , NJ : Pearson Education .
Words ORLA BAGNALL , NAOMI HANNA , ORLA KELLY and MIKAELA WILLIAMS , occupational therapy students at Glasgow Caledonian University obagna200 @ caledonian . ac . uk NHANNA201 @ caledonian . ac . uk
okelly202 @ caledonian . ac . uk mwilli211 @ caledonian . ac . uk
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June 2022 OTnews 45