TY - JOUR
T1 - The historical shift towards human rights in occupational therapy with special reference to the Capabilities Approach and its implications
AU - Mousavi, Tahmineh
AU - Forwell, Susan
AU - Dharamsi, Shafik
AU - Dean, Elizabeth
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© World Federation of Occupational Therapists 2015.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - There has been a shift in the perspective of care of people with disabilities, specifically, from an emphasis on biomedical needs for human rights. Although occupational therapists have had a tradition of empowering people's capabilities, only recently has a human rights perspective been advanced within the profession. In this review, we describe the historical shift over recent decades in approaches to rehabilitation services including occupational therapy, from traditional biomedical and social approaches to progressive socio-political and human rights approaches. Of the human rights approaches, Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach appears particularly consistent with contemporary occupational therapy professional values and perspectives. Further, its systematic adoption has implications for teaching and research as well as practice in occupational therapy. The integration of a human rights approach, such as the Capabilities Approach, within occupational therapy would clearly align occupational therapy with human rights initiatives of the United Nations and World Health Organization.
AB - There has been a shift in the perspective of care of people with disabilities, specifically, from an emphasis on biomedical needs for human rights. Although occupational therapists have had a tradition of empowering people's capabilities, only recently has a human rights perspective been advanced within the profession. In this review, we describe the historical shift over recent decades in approaches to rehabilitation services including occupational therapy, from traditional biomedical and social approaches to progressive socio-political and human rights approaches. Of the human rights approaches, Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach appears particularly consistent with contemporary occupational therapy professional values and perspectives. Further, its systematic adoption has implications for teaching and research as well as practice in occupational therapy. The integration of a human rights approach, such as the Capabilities Approach, within occupational therapy would clearly align occupational therapy with human rights initiatives of the United Nations and World Health Organization.
KW - Capabilities approach
KW - Human rights
KW - Occupational therapy
KW - Rehabilitation services
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84988505566&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1179/2056607715Y.0000000005
DO - 10.1179/2056607715Y.0000000005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84988505566
SN - 1447-3828
VL - 71
SP - 81
EP - 87
JO - World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin
JF - World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin
IS - 2
ER -