Occupational Therapy Scope of Practice
Scope
The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4) is an American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) official document that describes the occupational therapy practice. It is intended for occupational therapy practitioners and students, other healthcare professionals, educators, researchers, payers, policymakers, and consumers. It highlights the professions' domains and process:
Domain
Occupational therapy practitioners acknowledge and appreciate the "mind-body-spirit connection" and how that connection impacts engagement and participation in everyday life. Understanding this dynamic relationship along with the importance of occupations that are meaningful and productive highlights the use of occupations as "both the means and the ends of interventions". This understanding sets occupational therapy apart as focusing on the whole person is stronger than individual parts of human functioning. The OTPF-4 (AOTA, 2020) identifies occupations as activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), health management, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process—fourth edition. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 3), 7412410010p1–7412410010p87.https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001