Public health
Public health
Feature
Jessica Oglethorpe is on a learning journey to expand her practice and here she reflects on her passion for occupational therapy and public health .
O
ver the past few decades , there has been an increased focus on the value of incorporating an occupational therapy lens within public health as a means of strengthening approaches to health promotion interventions ( Bass and Baker 2017 ).
In the UK , RCOT is actively working towards a vision of integrating the professional practice of occupational therapists in and with active research and policy , supporting the profession ’ s integration into wider areas of health and social care ( RCOT 2021 ).
Since qualifying as an occupational therapist five years ago , and developing a specialist interest in forensic mental health , I have become increasingly motivated to expand my practice by way of integrating academia and policy into my continuing clinical practice ; and I saw scope for the broader possibilities of occupational therapy frames of references and approaches to public health .
In September 2022 , I began a part-time MSc in Public Health ( Mental Health ) at King ’ s College London , a course that is specifically designed for practising clinicians from a range of healthcare professions who wish to develop into public health researcher-clinicians alongside their practice .
Since this time , I have balanced my academic engagement with my role as lead occupational therapist in the mental health and psychological therapies team at HMP Brixton , London .
Critically , I was only able to do this with funding support from the Elizabeth Casson Trust . This funding has not only been personally and professionally invaluable in enabling me to develop my occupational therapy career into academia and policy , but also signals the trust ’ s drive to expand the profession innovatively via non-traditional pathways .
What is public health ?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define public health as the science of improving and protecting the health of people and communities through the promotion of healthy lifestyles and research into disease prevention .
There are parallels between this approach and occupational therapy , which as a profession also aims to support healthy lifestyle , but specifically through the medium of meaningful occupation , based on the premise that occupation is integral to health and wellbeing .
However , an occupational therapy approach arguably focuses primarily on the individual and their occupational participation , albeit with consideration for the influence of the wider community and society , whereas public health is strictly population-based .
It is in the emphasis on health promotion where public health and occupational therapy can find common ground ; health promotion is about empowering people to have control and influence over their health and the environmental factors that affect it , as well as facilitating participation through a holistic perspective of wellbeing ( Moll , Gewurtz and Law 2013 ).
This shared value serves as an argument for a more active drive to have occupational therapists working in and contributing to public health interventions , policy and research .
Occupational therapy involvement in public health has the potential to enrich population-level intervention through a greater understanding of the occupational participation of individuals and communities , endeavouring to strike a balance between upstream and downstream public health approaches .
Public health campaigns aimed at health promotion tend to focus primarily on behaviour change , from an unhealthy behaviour to a healthy one , for example the NHS ’ s Change4Life campaign that promoted dietary adjustments for individuals and families to reduce weight gain .
However , these kinds of campaigns are often limited in their lack of consideration for the wider , arguably complex , impact of engagement in occupations beyond the targeted behaviour ( Gewurtz et al 2016 ).
This occupational engagement may act as a health aid , such as spending time in nature or having a satisfactory work-life balance , or a health risk factor , such as increased engagement in sedentary and isolative activities .
September 2023 OTnews 21