The Contribution of Occupational Therapy: A Profession in Support of the Elderly

Abstract

Everyone shapes, and is shaped by, their past experiences and their interactions with their physical, social, political, and cultural environments. Each elderly client is unique, therefore, in the way they interpret and carry out their aging, as a result of those past experiences. Occupational therapists understand this relationship and its impact on their health. Through evidenced-based practice, occupational therapy (OT) assists the elderly person and their caregivers to identify and alleviate the impact of their aging on their ability to engage in everyday activities, which bring meaning and significance to their life. The following chapter will describe the theoretical concepts behind these relationships and the therapeutic use of occupational therapy in a multidisciplinary health-care geriatric team.