Developing Community Occupational Therapy Services in Canada

Abstract

International trends in health care point to increasing development of community services. However, the majority of occupational therapists work in institutional settings. A study, between 1985 and 1987, defined and created a profile of existing community occupational therapy services across Canada, and identified the processes and strategies which led to the development of these services. One hundred and eighty nine (189) services, including home care, other salaried services, and private or consulting services were identified. A national sample of community occupational therapy program developers described processes and strategies from which the author suggests a general “ripple effect” strategy to enhance the occupational therapy contribution to the community.