Occupational therapy and European social reform: Complacent or contributing?

Abstract

This opinion piece presents an informed opinion on occupational therapy and social reform. It questions why only a few occupational therapists have responded to the social issues evident in Europe. It recognises that although some European occupational therapists worked with social reform before the introduction of the Bologna and Tuning Processes, both offered important direction in relation to considering society's needs in occupational therapy education. These processes revealed social injustice, which underpinned a different occupational therapy education focusing not only on the individual but also on populations and social reform. Social reform projects including work in Eastern Europe are presented. Occupational therapists are urged to minimise complacency toward addressing social reform and are challenged to develop new approaches to contribute to social reform. 2015 The Author(s).