First steps to developing an Indigenous Occupational Therapy workforce Lin Oke, Tamar Paluch, Naomi Priest (KOTS) & Glenda Thorpe (VACCHO) On behalf of the KOTS committee

What is OT? “Occupational therapy is a profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation…” OCCUPATION = all things that people need and want to do “…The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life…” World Federation of Occupational Therapy

Philosophy of OT Client-centered Enabling, Empowering Person-environment relationship Culturally sensitive Holistic ‘Doing’ philosophy Remediative & preventative World Federation of Occupational Therapy

Aboriginal definition of health 'Aboriginal health is not just the physical well being of an individual but is the social, emotional and cultural well being of the whole community in which each individual is able to achieve their full potential thereby bringing about the total well being of their community. It is a whole-of-life view and includes the cyclical concept of life-death-life.’ NAHS, 1989

OTs & Indigenous health Health inequities experienced by Indigenous Australians Need for health promotion, preventative & remediative approaches Contribution of OT to addressing these inequities Health-disability-culture  unique occupational needs

OT Workforce Needs <0.1% of OT workforce identifies as Indigenous Australian (Lowe & O’Kane, 2004) Need for more allied health working in Indigenous health Victorian workforce analysis based on 1:1200 workforce: population ratio for allied health (VACCHO 2007) Lowest population estimate Highest population estimate

Vision of KOTS KOTS (Koori Occupational Therapy Scheme) seeks to actively encourage and advocate for increased Indigenous representation in the occupational therapy profession. Our motivation to create this scheme is borne of a deep commitment to the knowledge that Indigenous health professionals are best positioned to deliver meaningful and accessible services to Indigenous populations.

Objectives of KOTS 1.To increase the number of Indigenous OTs 2.To increase awareness of Indigenous health and its social, cultural, political and historical contexts within the OT profession 3.To increase awareness of the role of OT within Aboriginal health services

Current endeavours Promoting OT as a career choice Establishing Scholarship support scheme Coordinating work placements for students Establishing bank of OTs to mentor & coach Koori students Strategic planning, sustainability, funding 1. Increasing numbers of Indigenous OTs

Current endeavours Publications & Presentations Advocate for improved OT curriculum Indigenous health info pack Professional development for practitioners Strategic planning, sustainability, funding 2. Awareness within OT field

Current endeavours Publications & presentations Work with VACCHO on AHW training Strategic planning, sustainability, funding 3. Awareness within Indigenous health

Future directions Supporting Koori students via a scholarship support scheme Advocating for improved recruitment & retention of Koori students Advocating for a cross-disciplinary effort to address these issues across the allied health spectrum 1. Increasing numbers of Indigenous OTs

Future directions Advancing a national association position paper on Indigenous health Advocating for a review of Indigenous health content in OT curricula Advocating for a cross-disciplinary effort to address these issues across the allied health spectrum 2. Awareness within OT field

Future directions Advocating for the availability of OT services within AHS Advocating for a cross-disciplinary effort to address these issues across the allied health spectrum 3. Awareness within Indigenous health

KEEP IN TOUCH Feel free to contact us with any feedback, guidance or support With support from the Anna Wearne Trust & VACCHO