The Professional Board for Occupational Therapy, Medical Orthotics, Prosthetics and Arts Therapy, commemorates World Occupational Therapy Day on Friday, 27 October 2023 under the theme: “Unity through Community”. The South African Occupational Therapy community has added “Unity through community: embracing change to reflect the ethos of occupational therapists in South Africa”.
World Occupational Therapy Day was first declared in 2010 by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Since then, the day has become an important feature in both local and international health awareness calendars.
Occupational therapy enables healthcare practitioners to utilise therapeutic techniques to improve, rehabilitate, or maintain a patient’s motor skills and overall ability to perform daily activities. Occupational therapists are therefore responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of intervention for clients with physical, mental, developmental, and emotional challenges or conditions that impact their ability to perform everyday tasks.
In line with the adopted theme, the Board will continue to engage various stakeholders to promote the work and activities of occupational therapists within communities. Furthermore, through this awareness campaign the Board aims at upholding its mandate of protecting the public and guiding the professions through information sharing initiatives relating to the important role and impact that occupational therapy interventions play.
Through these stakeholder engagement drives, the Board continues to make occupational therapy services more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable, especially for the poor and vulnerable groups in all spheres of society.
In keeping with its mandate of protecting the public and guiding the profession, the Board encourage practitioners to use the “Unity through Community” theme to promote awareness on social media, click here for logos, as well as to join the Occupational Therapy International Online Network to share news and ideas about World Occupational Therapy Day.
Last Updated on 27 October 2023 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs