Free Health Dissertations - Occupational Analysis - Discuss The Relationship Between Occupation And
Occupational Analysis - Discuss the relationship between occupation and health and recognise factors which facilitate occupational performance.
In the context of this essay occupation is taken to encompass care of self, leisure and employment (American Occupational Therapy Association: Uniform Terminology, 1994) whereby the person interacts with the environment. These areas are not mutually exclusive. It is the ordinary and familiar things that people do every day (American Occupational Therapy Association Commission on Practice Home Health Task Force: Guidelines, 1995). Performance components include the necessary skills for the task and the temporal and environmental performance context. Occupational performance is important; people identify who they are by what they do.
Relation between occupation and health
Occupation is important in maintaining health but certain occupations may actually cause ill health. Ill health may lower occupational performance. The relationship is further complicated by poor performance contributing to ill health which further lowers performance. An example would be someone performing poorly in paid employment and becoming depressed as an indirect result (perhaps because of redeployment) and performing even more poorly as a result of the depression. A goal of occupational therapy is to use appropriate occupation therapeutically to counteract the effects of disability and to promote well being.
The effect of some disease processes on performance will now be explored. Certain pathological conditions will have a typical effect on performance for instance a cerebrovascular accident, a not uncommon cause of occupational dysfunction, will affect sensation and motor skills in a fairly predictable way. The degree of impairment is variable depending on the aetiology, severity and location of the cerebral injury. The effects may be profound. Laterality is important since one side of the brain has a major impact on language and the other motor skills. Which side of the brain is dominant for various functions depends on whether or not the individual is right handed. Occupational performance is affected by sensorimotor deficit and subsequent musculosketal affects for instance significant sensorimotor deficit commonly affects the shoulder joint with its innate dependence on good muscular tone of the rotator cuff from which the joint largely derives its stability. Disruption of cognitive function and emotional liability are factors commonly involved in severe cerebrovascular accidents to the further detriment of performance.
Of the musculoskeletal group of disorders Rheumatoid arthritis is important since it is so common. In addition to affecting movement by joint deformity, sensorineural and neuromuscular effects the individual may suffer psychological effects such as depression further limiting performance (Deyo 1982).
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