Area of concentration “Occupational therapy, community contexts and social
inclusion”
The area of concentration “Occupational therapy, community contexts and social inclusion” brings together studies that involve the development, evaluation and theoretical-practical qualification of occupational therapy interventions aimed at expanding opportunities for participation and social inclusion. These ideas coherently articulate the terms that make up its name. In this way, it covers the challenges of professional practice in projects and programs that are developed within the scope of inclusive public policies which incorporate, and value community contexts as integral parts of the intervention carried out. The studies are based on the notions of autonomy and everyday life that underpin contemporary occupational therapy practices. Also, they are supported by community and territorial perspectives of care, whose dynamics aim to reach the uniqueness of the experiences of limitations and restrictions on social participation imposed by specific sociocultural contexts.
Studies of this nature – carried out in services that use specific concepts and methodologies for interacting with communities and territories – allow for the improvement of the training of occupational therapists to analyze and intervene in different factors and contextual situations that hinder or prevent autonomy in daily activities, in order to promote favorable conditions for: (i) the integral development and participation of children and young people in activities, social relationships and different scenarios of daily life, supporting their inclusion processes in the family, school and culture; (ii) the maintenance, promotion or expansion of the possibilities for self-care and care of others, coexistence, community life, work and social participation of adults and elderly people who experience processes of rupture or weakening of their social networks. Given the nature of such studies, they can be carried out in different services and in various educational and cultural facilities in which occupational therapists work professionally, namely: (i) in the Unified Health System (SUS), involving actions carried out in Basic Health Units, Family Health Support Centers, Psychosocial Care Centers, Specialty Outpatient Clinics, Specialized Rehabilitation Centers, General and Specialized Hospitals, Therapeutic Residences, School Health Program and Home Care Program and Community Centers, among others; (ii) in Education and Culture, based on actions carried out with Early Childhood Education Centers and Schools, Elementary and High Schools, Young Adult Education Centers, Special Education Support Teams, Cultural Centers and Cultural Points, Museums, Exhibitions, as well as in projects involving local artistic and cultural expressions; (iii) in the Unified Social
Assistance System (SUAS), through professional activities carried out in Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS), Specialized Social Assistance Reference Centers (CREAS), in Coexistence and Strengthening of Bonds Services (for children, youth and the elderly), in Basic Social Protection Services at home for people with disabilities and the elderly and also in Reference Centers for the Homeless Population, in addition to those that are part of the System for Guaranteeing the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Youth; (iv) in the Social Security System, through professional activities associated with the processes of professional rehabilitation of workers and their return to the labor market via the Professional Rehabilitation Program of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS).
UPDATE: MARCH, 15TH 2025