Occupational Justice PLUS: From theoretical salience to practical application-An analysis of community narratives...

Emerging scholarship highlights the dominance of Western epistemologies in disaster research, limiting diversity and participation in knowledge production. The occupational therapy profession faces similar critiques of epistemic and hegemonic blind spots, prompting calls for critical reflection on professional assumptions. Drawing on narratives and guided by Whiteford's Occupational Justice PLUS model, we explore how learnings from community members' responses to a bushfire event could broaden our understanding of occupational, epistemic, and hermeneutic justice in the context of disasters and, more broadly, other injustices.

This qualitative study used a phenomenological hermeneutical approach to explore narratives of disaster recovery. Data included a written narrative from 'Doing Our Best' and the film 'We Are Conjola'. Analysis followed Lindseth and Norberg's three-step process: naïve reading, structural analysis of themes, and comprehensive interpretation informed by literature and theories.

Findings revealed interconnected injustices. Occupational injustice arose from restricted access to resources during bushfire response and recovery, with community-led initiatives critical to restoring occupational justice. Epistemic injustice was evident in government disregard for climate science and Indigenous knowledge, compounded by media erasure, prompting the community to create its own narrative through film. Hermeneutic injustice occurred when aspects of social identity were obscured from collective understanding; residents responded through artistic expression to reclaim identity, share lived experience, and communicate systemic failures.

Community-driven action addressed occupational, epistemic, and hermeneutic injustices following the Conjola bushfire. These findings highlight the relevance of the Occupational Justice PLUS model for disaster contexts, emphasising the need for occupational therapists to adopt critical, justice-oriented approaches that privilege community voice and foster community-led action in disaster recovery and knowledge creation.

Advocacy for community voice and future research on applying the Occupational Justice PLUS model are essential to support inclusive, community-driven recovery and strengthen knowledge creation in disaster contexts.