Old themes, new directions--occupational therapy in the 21st century

The paper begins with a brief look at directions for the future of occupational therapy as expressed in occupational therapy literature over the past six decades. The major contributions in the areas of practice, research and education, professional organization, and theory/knowledge base are highlighted. It then considers current social issues in Canadian society which have a bearing on occupational therapy and implications for its future development: population trends, health status and hospitalization, universal access to health and social services, unemployment, client expectations, multiculturism, medical ethics, family breakdown and child abuse. It looks at the occupational therapy profession in relation to these social issues and concludes with a summary of implications for occupational therapy and predictions for its future into the 21st century based on the analysis of these trends.