OT JEDI: Recent Episodes
Suzanne Rappaport
OT JEDI recognizes the present social injustices and racism that still exist within our nation, and embrace the rich perspectives and experiences that arise from racial, ethnic, socio-economic, sexual, gender and religious diversity within our health care community.The goal of OT JEDI is to empower our listeners in order to recognize barriers with our occupational therapy experiences that may be caused by social injustice, inequality, and racial trauma. We are committed to building opportunities for learning, growth, and accountability.
Occupational therapists must consider the unique needs of transgender clients to create an inclusive healthcare environment that respects individual identities. Several recent legislation restrict various liberties, including medical treatments, bathroom usage, and preferred pronoun recognition. Transgender individuals often face distinct challenges related to mental health, social support, and healthcare access. Occupational therapists play a vital role in addressing these challenges by tailoring intervention plans to meet the specific needs of transgender clients, which may include assistance with daily activities and serving as advocates. By embracing cultural humility and gender-affirming care, occupational therapists contribute to the well-being and empowerment of transgender clients, promoting healthier and more fulfilling lives.
Resources
- Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference
- Fenway Health & Harvard University “Advancing Excellence in Sexual Minority Healthcare”
- Harvard online course “LGBTQ Health Issues”
References
Gender identity and expression. (2016, April 16). [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from personal email from PFLAG Health Disparities. (2015, September 1). [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/index.htm
Human Rights Campaign & Trans People of Color Coalition. (2017). A time to act: Fatal violence against transgender people in America 2017. San Francisco, CA: Lee, M.
Lynn, M. (2017). Here’s what transgender people with disabilities want you to know. BuzzFeed, Retrieved from https://www.buzzfeed.com/mahdialynn/heres-what-disabled-transgender-people-want-you-to-know? utm_term=.fdrrNNQX5m#.jbdx00AzGX
National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. (2011). National transgender discrimination survey. Washington, DC: Grant, J. M., Mottet, L. A., Tanis, J., Herman, J. L., Harrison, J., & Keisling, M.
National LGBTQ Health Education Center: Fenway Health. (2016). Affirmative care for transgender and gender non-conforming: Best practice for front-line health care staff. Boston, MA
Occupational Therapy’s Commitment to Nondiscrimination and Inclusion. (2014). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Supplement_3), S23-4.
Pan, L. & Moore, A. (n.d.). The gender unicorn. [blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.transstudent.org/gender
Parekh, R., (2016, February). What is gender dysphoria? [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria
Singular ‘they’. (2018). [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/singular-nonbinary-they
State Maps of Laws and Policies. (2019). [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/state-maps/transgender-healthcare
Understanding the transgender community. (2018). [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/resources/understanding-the-transgender-community
Violence against the transgender community in 2018 (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2018
Occupational therapy can provide services in many different areas within the prison system. From providing transitional services to inmates getting ready to be released, to focusing on occupational deprivation, to leading groups for an infinite number of topics. This episode features Ariana Gonzalez, an occupational therapist, executive director, and founder of Life After Incarceration: Transition & Reentry (LAITR), an occupational therapy community-based program focused on reentry for individuals after incarceration.
To learn more about Ariana Gonzalez and LAITR visit https://www.lifeafterincarceration.com/
References
Criminal justice data. The Sentencing Project. (2023, January 25). Retrieved July 29, 2023, from https://www.sentencingproject.org/research/us-criminal-justice-data/
Dillon, M. B., Dillon, T. H., Griffiths, T., Prusnek, L., & Tippie, M. (2020). The distinct value of occupational therapy in corrections: Implementation of a life skills program in a county jail. Annals of International Occupational Therapy, 3(4), 185. https://doi.org/10.3928/24761222-20200309-01
Gonzalez, A., & Tyminski, Q. (2020). Sleep deprivation in an American homeless population. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 6(4), 489–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2020.01.002
Jaegers, L. A., Dieleman, C., Dillon, M. B., Rogers, S., Muñoz, J. P., & Barney, K. F. (2020). Justice-based occupational therapy initiative: Advancing occupational justice in criminal justice systems. Annals of International Occupational Therapy, 3(4), 200+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A676585517/AONE?u=mlin_m_regis&sid=ebsco&xid=ed5dd4db
Muñoz, J. P., Moreton, E. M., & Sitterly, A. M. (2016). The scope of practice of occupational therapy in U.S. criminal justice settings. Occupational Therapy International, 23(3), 241–254. https://doi.org/10.1002/oti.1427
Tucker, S. (2020). Access to OT in the prison system: Assessing attitudes of OT students and practitioners...2020 American occupational therapy association annual conference & expo. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Sup1), 1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S1-PO1510
Tyminski, Q., Gonzalez, A., & Synovec, C. E. (2020). The importance of health management and maintenance occupations while homeless: A case study. Work, 65(2), 297–301. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-203081
Special thanks to Parker Sheridan for the background research!
By the end of 2022, a record-breaking number of people — 108.4 million — have been forced to flee their homes.
Refugees are people who are forced to flee from their country of origin due to violence, oppression, or substantiated fear of persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, nationality, membership in a group, or expression of certain political opinions.
Refugees experience occupational deprivation which is defined as a condition where an individual is unable to engage in meaningful occupations due to enforced contextual factors such as a lack of sources of sustenance, support, and services, diminished safety, and separation/loss of family members.
When occupational injustice occurs, humans as occupational beings are hindered from their right to have equal opportunities to participate in meaningful occupations that meet their occupational needs.
Jill Maglio, an occupational therapist, is currently working with refugees in Greece on a CircusAid project. She is the founding Director, Educator, and Occupational Therapist of both Holistic Circus Therapy and CircusAid, which are social circus programs that utilize circus activities as a therapeutic tool to increase occupational participation.
Her work is nuanced with all the shifting barriers and bureaucracies in place but instills joy and laughter. Her work promotes social connectedness and efficacy, as well as a possible reprieve from their distressing circumstances.
For more information on Jill Maglio's work with refugees - https://www.circusaid.com/
For more information about circus as a therapeutic tool - https://www.holisticcircustherapy.com/
References
Darawsheh, W. B., Bewernitz, M., Tabbaa, S., & Justiss, M. (2022). Factors Shaping Occupational Injustice among Resettled Syrian Refugees in the United States. Occupational Therapy International, 2022, 2846896. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2846896
Maglio, J. & McKinstry, C. (2008). Occupational therapy and circus: Potential partners in enhancing the health and well-being of today’s youth. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 55, 287–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2007.00713.x
R. El-Bialy and S. Mulay, (2015). Two sides of the same coin: factors that support and challenge the wellbeing of refugees resettled in a small urban center. Health & Place, 35, 52–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.06.009
The UN Refugee Agency. (14 June, 2023) Refugee data finder. UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/
In June 2022, the Supreme Court's decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization turned the right to obtain or not obtain an abortion over to the states, which is very nuanced. It is more than just a restriction of women’s rights but in some states, there is an aspect of criminalization. This presents complications for occupational therapy practitioners in terms of how we practice with our Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, how we address occupational risk factors, and how it obscures our Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics. Darya Nemati and Delany McKee, Boston University Occupational Therapy Doctoral Candidates, share their emerging research on recent changes in abortion laws and how these laws might influence occupational therapy practice.
Toni Solaru OT, OTD, OTR talks about the unknown history of occupational therapy. Dr. Solaru is a community-based mental health OT and the co-founder and Chair of Diverse-OT National, an organization dedicated to advancing the cultural climate within the OT profession and strives to create a community of critically reflexive OT(A)s and students.
To follow Diverse-OT National on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/diverseot_national/?hl=en
To access the full interview on YouTube – https://youtu.be/Au8sreLe8IE
Victor Calise has had a diverse career path—he has gone from plumber to Paralympian to Policymaker. He competed in sled hockey in the 1998 Paralympics in Nagano, Japan. He worked for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. He was appointed the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and then reappointed by Mayor Bill De Blasio, and reappointed again by Mayor Eric Adams. He recently took on a new role as Director of Global Culture, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Walmart’s newly formed Accessibility Center of Excellence.
Here are some additional links for the accessible accomplishments in NYC - Accessible NYC and Judy Heumann's #ManCrushMonday about Victor Calise.
As occupational therapy practitioners, we understand disability within the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this two-part episode, occupational therapy student Meaghan Lawrence discusses the program, Empower Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) which supports individuals who have had an injury to their spinal cord. In the traditional rehabilitation model in the United States, rehabilitation stops a few months after injury. Often after discharge is when true rehabilitation needs to occur because the initial shock and comorbid conditions have diminished. Through Empower SCI, the participants have the opportunity to take part in a more meaningful rehabilitation.
Special Thanks to Meaghan Lawrence for writing and interviewing and special thanks to Michael Manhardt for sharing the Empower SCI story.
For more information about Empower SCI, please visit their website.
As occupational therapy practitioners, we understand disability within the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this two-part episode, occupational therapy student Meaghan Lawrence discusses the program, Empower Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) which supports individuals who have had an injury to their spinal cord. In the traditional rehabilitation model in the United States, rehabilitation stops a few months after injury. Often after discharge is when true rehabilitation needs to occur because the initial shock and comorbid conditions have diminished. Through Empower SCI, the participants have the opportunity to take part in a more meaningful rehabilitation.
Special Thanks to Meaghan Lawrence for writing and interviewing and special thanks to Elizabeth Lima Remillard for sharing the Empower SCI story. In our next episode Meaghan will interview, Michael Manhardt, who was a participant and peer mentor at Empower SCI.
For more information about Empower SCI, please visit their website.
Dr. Ana Malfitano’s career is focused on Social Occupational Therapy, which has been developed in Brazil to repair various inequities and injustices. In Dr. Malfitano’s World Federation of Occupational Therapy 2022 Keynote address, she turns the lens of occupational therapy onto the idea of anthropophagy. This concept was developed in The Manifesto Anthropophagic, by Oswald de Andrade, which proposes that metacognitive knowledge stems from alterity. In a world where we coexist with many other cultures—understanding the “other” and consuming this knowledge, builds new understanding. In this discussion of anthropophagy and its application in social occupational therapy, we question the construction of our therapeutic position and purpose. Today’s world is fraught with relentless social inequalities and rather than cancel the colonial origins, perhaps recognition of the plurality of our histories & cultures, and questioning our actions will unite us in working towards a social life.
Image: Abaporu, 1928 by Tarsila do Amaral
In the United States the profession of occupational therapy was established in 1917 and in the UK it was established in 1922 but in Arab countries, like Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, Kuwait, and others, occupational therapy was established less than 40 years ago. And most Arab countries saw the establishment of occupational therapy within the last 25 years.
Of course, as the profession grew in Arab nations, theories, and models were brought in from Western countries that emphasized practices that had been developed in very different contexts. These ideas about human occupation and its connection to health and wellness had to be translated and made to fit into the Arab culture. These theories and models stem from the well-educated, privileged social positions, able-bodied, white Anglophones, who identify with Judeo-Christian cultural backgrounds.
When Dr. Razan Hamed was studying occupational therapy at the University of Jordan, she noticed that some occupational therapy evaluations were missing some important aspects of Muslim life while holding onto items that were irrelevant in Jordan. She set her sights on the Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills or PASS and created the A-PASS, the Arabic Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills
This episode we will discuss and learn about hair equity. Hairstyles have cultural roots. It can be easy to dismiss and think, “Well, it’s just hair.”
When people spend time in hospitals, they often experience disruptions in their normal routines and engagement in the activities of daily living or ADLs. I talked with two professionals, Lauren Justice an OT and Kim Regis, who is the Vice President of operations at Nationwide children’s hospital in Columbus Ohio. They formed a hair equity initiative and launched a program to that increased staff awareness and education, as well as, taking stock on current hair supply inventory. Their work is not only an example of occupational justice with focus on equal access to grooming but also a paragon of what can be accomplished on multidisciplinary teams.
Click here for more information on the hair equity programs at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Some common hairstyle vocabulary:
Box braids are a stye of hair-braiding. This type of hairstyle is a "protective style" (which means it is a style which can be worn for a long period of time to let natural hair grow and protect the ends of the hair) and is used as a way to protect textured hair against split ends and damage from heat and humidity. It is considered "boxy" because of square-shaped hair divisions.
A do-rag is a scarf or cloth worn on the head, typically with its ends or corners tied together in the back. It dates back to the 19th century when poor laborers and slaves needed something to tie their hair back with. Later during the Harlem Renaissance and Great Depression, in the 1930s, do-rag evolved into a hairstyle preserver.
There are two types of lace fronts, a full lace wig and a lace front wig is the base. The difference is in the name, lace front wigs contain lace in the front of the wig. It is attached to the front edges of the head, along the hairline where there is often a lace panel. Full lace wigs are pasted to the head entirely, they tend to have a slightly stronger durability.
A sew-in is a hair extensions made up of small cornrow braids that are used as anchors then attached with hair wefts by use of needle and weaving thread.
A silk press is a method of straightening natural curls without a chemical relaxer. Instead, this hairstyling technique uses a blow-dryer and flat iron to smooth out the hair.
A quick weave is a style where extensions are glued to a protective wig cap before bonding it to the head. It's a protective style that can be done at home.
Welcome to the OT JEDI podcast.
A podcast dedicated to building knowledge about social injustices and inequities in the worlds of public health & health care through the lens of occupational therapy.
Introducing OT JEDI. A podcast dedicated to exploring our past and present to unpack the social injustices and racism that still exist. We want to embrace the perspectives and experiences that arise from racial, ethnic, socio-economic, sexual, gender and religious diversity within our health care community. OT JEDI wants to empower our listeners in order to recognize barriers with our health care experiences that may be caused by inequality and racial trauma. OT JEDI is committed to building opportunities for learning, growth, and accountability.