A Scholarship of Practice Revisited: Creating Community-Engaged Occupational Therapy Practitioners, Educators, and Scholars

Occup Ther Health Care. 2015;29(4):352-69. doi: 10.3109/07380577.2015.1051690. Epub 2015 Aug 13.

Abstract

Trends in policy, practice, and research point to the need for a community-engaged Scholarship of Practice (SOP) model that can be used to inform the development of occupational therapy practitioners, educators, and researchers. This article describes a community-engaged SOP model, the evidence justifying the need for such a model, and strategies to effectively create community-engaged practitioners, educators and career scientists within occupational therapy. We highlight several examples of community-based participatory research to further inform this model, and in turn, translate this knowledge back to communities for action and systems change that can affect the lives of people with disabilities and the communities in which they seek to live and participate long term.

Keywords: Community engagement; Community-based participatory research; Community-based practice; Engaged scholarship; Health disparities; Scholarship of practice.

MeSH terms

  • Community-Based Participatory Research*
  • Cooperative Behavior*
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Disabled Persons
  • Health Personnel
  • Health Services Research*
  • Health Services for Persons with Disabilities*
  • Humans
  • Occupational Therapy* / education
  • Research Personnel
  • Residence Characteristics*
  • Translational Research, Biomedical*
  • Workforce