Category: OTalk

In children’s services, occupational therapists enable children and young people to engage with and participate in the occupations that matter most to them. Occupational therapists commonly categorise occupations under self-care, productivity, and leisure; for children, we often consider these as self-care, education, and play. 

Occupational therapy aims to support children to build on skills to support their development and reach their goals as they grow. This is in collaboration with those around them, such as parents/ carers, families, school, nursery, and other professionals. 

Many factors can influence a child or young person’s ability to participate in occupations and carry out tasks and activities in the way they need to want to or are expected to do. Sensory processing difficulties (sensory processing differences, sensory sensitivities, sensory preferences) are one of these factors, and can impact a child or young person’s ability to participate in and access their occupations. We have eight sensory systems; visual, auditory, smell, tactile, taste, proprioception, interoception, and vestibular. These eight senses all receive varying levels of input, and our bodies all process this input in different ways. The sensory information our bodies receive can differ depending on so many factors, and with this in mind, it has been established that those who know a child or young person best; their parents, educators, families; are in the best position to be supported to learn about their sensory systems and where their difficulties might lie. 

When a child is experiencing sensory difficulties, many occupational therapy services, like ourselves, employ a targeted approach, providing live and pre-recorded sensory training sessions, advice, information on resources and support strategies directly to the child’s parents, educators, and others around them. This approach is in line with The Scottish Governments “Ready to Act” policy, which sought to increase access to occupational therapy, increase participation and engagement and partnership with those around the child, and with a greater focus on early intervention and prevention. This policy brought about a tiered approach for children and young people’s services; universal level that is for all- reinforcing a preventative approach and promotion of wellbeing, targeted level for those more likely identified as having needs that can be met through advice, learning workshops, specialist level where needs are not able to be met through either of the other levels. 

We would like to take the opportunity to discuss new ways of working, new ideas, and innovations for occupational therapy and sensory processing differences. What opportunities are we as occupational therapy services missing out on? 

Occupational Therapy developed as a holistic profession, aiming to treat the “whole person” through the means of meaningful activity. While initially rooted in the arts and crafts movement, the profession has evolved significantly since its inception. 

Given its roots, it’s no wonder that OT literature includes robust evidence for the benefits of creative activities in maintaining well being, promoting recovery following illness or injury, and addressing many of the social determinants of health. In 2017, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts for Health and Wellbeing, published their findings (https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/appg-inquiry/ ), coining the term ‘Creative Health’. This term is used to describe and encompass creating the opportunities for the arts, culture and nature to be embedded into public health. University College London has since inaugurated a Masters of Arts and Science in Creative Health, which aims to generate a generation of socially engaged scholars to meet the changing needs of the NHS, Social Care and Voluntary Sector, offering opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Knowing that creativity finds itself in the roots of the occupational therapy profession, the National Centre for Creative Health, Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the MASc Creative Health collaboratively held an OTalk and webinar in Autumn 2022, exploring creative occupational therapy, they built cross-sector bridges and inspired many. The webinar resulted in a number of occupational therapists reporting the need for community networking, story sharing and training opportunities to support work across, and between the arts, humanities and health. In recognising the need for this work to be formalised and actioned, the ‘creative roOTs’ network has now been established. 

The “creative roOTs” network will provide opportunities for OTs to showcase their work via blog posts and webinars. We will also hold monthly “drop-in” networking events online for practitioners to share evidence and engage in peer support. This network also aims to facilitate collaboration between OTs and arts in health professionals through networking opportunities and evidence sharing. 

In inaugurating this work, co-founders Hannah Sercombe and Sorcha Dunne would like to stimulate discussion around the professions progression and discuss whether it has been at the sacrifice of losing our roots. 

Questions:

 

Engaging in religious practises is an important occupation for many. During the month of ramadan in is vital that we take the time to understand, and  respect this important religious practise, undertaken by Muslims.  Both for the people we are delivering an occupational therapy servicer for and/or colleges we work beside.

There are five pillars of Islam 

There is no set date for Ramadan; it is observed when the moon for the 9th lunar month is sighted and lasts continually throughout the month. Due to the lunar calendar’s origin, the Islamic lunar calendar is shifted every year by 10-11 days.  This year Ramadan is expected to commence 23rd March* (*Subject to the sighting of the moon)

The fast lasts between dawn and sunset each day and includes complete abstinence from both food and drink, for all healthy adult Muslims (who are otherwise not exempt) on reaching puberty. 

There are also other activities that should be avoided during the month of Ramadan. Such as gossiping, cursing, lying, arguing, sexual contact. Ramadan is a time to improve your understanding of Islam, a time to recite the Quran and perform Salah (Namaz) during prayer times. Its also expected that you donated 

Exemptions to fasting include

• Pregnant or lactating women 
• Women during their menstruation. 
• Those who are travelling 
• Those who are physical and or mentally unwell and/or unable to consent or have capacity to understand. 
• Those that have health conditions that mean fasting would impact negatively on their health. 

Despite being in the above categories, some prefer not to miss the fasts in view of the special blessings and spiritual benefits during this time. Many Muslim with acute or long term health conditions or disabilities may still choose to fast.  It’s important to have the facts; learn how fasting during Ramadan may affect the health of servicer users, and ensure they get the right support that allows engagement in this meaningful occupation. 

 References 

https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/unit-one/the-five-pillars-of-islam

Avicenna J Med. 2017 Jul-Sep; 7(3): 81–87.Muslim patients in Ramadan: A review for primary care physicians Heba Abolaban1 and Ahmad Al-Moujahed https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5525471/

Ramadan: Information for Health Care Providers

Click to access Ramadan-a-guide-to-healthy-fasting-NHS.pdf

https://www.nhsemployers.org/news/access-guidance-support-your-workforce-during-ramadan-2022

10 quick facts for those who don’t know much about Ramadan

https://islamonline.net/en/about-ramadan-interesting-facts-to-know-about-ramadan/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/diabetes/case-studies/keeping-patients-with-diabetes-healthy-during-ramadan/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/our-nhs-people-ramadan-and-covid-19/

This weeks #OTalk Research chat will be hosted by @ot_aicha and supported by @SamOTantha on the OTalk Account. 

The importance of cultural identity and expression cannot be overstated, particularly for marginalized communities. In the UK, individuals who identify as Black African face unique challenges when accessing cultural occupations. Cultural occupations refer to the activities and practices that are rooted in culture and heritage, including food preparation, music, dance, and traditional clothing.

The research aimed to understand the lived experience of accessing cultural occupations for individuals who identify as Black African living in the UK. The study adopted a phenomenological design, which aimed to explore and describe the subjective experiences of the participants. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with participants, and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data.

The research findings showed that participant’s engagement in cultural occupations is dynamic and is centred on food co-occupations and self-care occupations. Food co-occupations refer to the act of cooking and sharing meals with family and friends, while self-care occupations refer to personal grooming and beauty practices for example at the hairdressers or barber shop. Participants reported that engaging in these cultural occupations helped them to maintain a sense of connection to their cultural heritage and identity.

However, the research also found that participants experienced barriers to engaging in cultural occupations, including occupational deprivation and occupational colonisation. Occupational deprivation refers to the lack of opportunity to engage in meaningful activities, which can have negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing. Occupational colonisation refers to the appropriation of cultural practices by dominant cultures, which can lead to the erasure of the original cultural meaning and significance.

The study’s findings suggest that there is a need for greater recognition and support for cultural occupations among Black African communities in the UK. This includes creating opportunities for individuals to engage in cultural activities and addressing the systemic barriers that prevent access to them. 

Participants reported that cultural occupations are dynamic and adaptable. Therefore, it is important that occupational therapists working in communities with minority ethnic groups should be culturally competent, not only in their knowledge of different cultures but in their receptivity to understanding the individual needs of people from different cultural backgrounds. 

In conclusion, this research highlights the importance of cultural occupations in maintaining a sense of cultural identity and heritage for Black African communities in the UK. The findings also demonstrate the need to address the systemic barriers that prevent access to cultural occupations and promote greater recognition and support for these occupations. 

From the research process itself and its findings the followings questions will be used to discuss further during the chat.