The pan occupational paradigm: development and key concepts.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Health Sciences
• Psychology

Background:

• The Occupational Perspective of Health (OPH) reflects a holistic, occupation-centered approach in therapy.
• OPH's dimensions (doing, being, becoming, belonging) are intuitively understood but have seen limited practical application.
• Identified barriers hinder the widespread implementation of the OPH in clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an updated and renewed framework of the OPH, termed the Pan Occupational Paradigm (POP).
• To address the sparse documented use and implementation barriers of the original OPH.
• To offer a contemporary paradigm for occupational therapy in the 21st century.

Main Methods:

• The Pan Occupational Paradigm (POP) was developed through critical analysis and reflective practices.
• A comprehensive literature review informed the development stages of the POP.
• The inherent assumptions underpinning the POP are detailed within the development process.

Main Results:

• The POP retains the four core dimensions of occupation from the OPH.
• It emphasizes the interdependent roles of these dimensions within various occupational entities (individuals, groups, communities).
• The framework allows for intervention at any point within an entity, engaging all dimensions of occupation.

Conclusions:

• The Pan Occupational Paradigm (POP) synthesizes occupational therapy's core knowledge regarding occupation and wellbeing.
• It provides an updated paradigm for occupational therapy practice.
• POP supports understanding the continuum of wellbeing and its changes throughout an individual's lifespan.