title: Social participation: redesign of education, research, and practice in occupational therapy. Previously published in Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 2013; 20: 2-8.
abstract: There is growing attention to participation and social participation in literature and policy reports. Occupational therapists strongly believe that creating coherence between the person's occupations and environment will facilitate participation of each individual. Nowadays, societal developments such as "health literacy and self-management", "Web 2.0 social media", "empowering communities", and "Nothing About Us Without Us" increase opportunities for people to interact on different levels of social participation. Social participation can be used as an outcome, though it can also be seen as a means to change society and to develop solutions for barriers experienced by people with chronic diseases or disabilities. Societal developments will have an impact on social participation in terms of supporting each other and contributing to society. Additionally, these changes will have a major influence on the way we educate, conduct research, and deliver occupational therapy practice.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Care, Centre of Research Autonomy and Participation for persons with a chronic illness, Department of Occupational Therapy, Zuyd University , The Netherlands and CAPHRI, School for Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Maastricht University , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piškur
keywords: education; occupational therapy; research; social participation; societal changes