Social participation as a possible way forward for social and occupational justice

Abstract

Introduction: Social justice, occupational justice, and social participation are terms used by occupational therapists and occupational scientists to guide, build, and inform their practices, professional training, research, and theoretical productions. Objective: To identify and reflect on the possibilities, limits, and challenges of Brazilian occupational therapists' practice in the search for social participation and how this may or may not contribute to the construction of social and occupational justice. Method: Through a collaborative methodology, academics, and assistance occupational therapists, working in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, were invited to answer a questionnaire. This instrument characterized the collaborators, and their work in teaching, research, and assistance, and identified how they discuss and carry out social participation in the theoretical and practical fields. Results: The 65 collaborators were inserted in public, private and philanthropic institutions, in different fields of knowledge and practice, and developed work and studies with/for various populations with specific demands and needs. They described different possibilities of social participation, some of an individual nature, focused on the subject and functionality, and others oriented towards and from the collective. The limits and challenges were related to work institutions, individual, collective, and structural aspects, and the field of knowledge and practice of occupational therapy. Conclusion: Based on the experiences of the collaborators and the professionals' understanding of social participation, it is considered that this may be a theoretical, conceptual, and practical path to reflect on and seek occupational and social justice with individuals, groups, and communities.