The occupational therapy practitioner’s role in health promotion, injury prevention, and role participation for the older worker

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Early, Amy^a | Walsh, Ryan^a | Douglas, Bruce^{b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA | [b] School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Bruce Douglas, DDS, MA, MPH, Professor of Health and Aging, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60608, USA. Tel.: +1 312 355 3173; E-mail: bdouglas@uic.edu.

Abstract: As the population of individuals aged sixty-five and older continues to grow, the number of older individuals participating in the workforce rises alongside, with projections estimating as many as 72 million older workers by 2030. Due to this rapid increase in the number of older workers, new challenges to worker health and to health-related productivity will arise in the coming years. Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely suited to address many of these challenges given their background in activity analysis, assessment and modification of job demands, health promotion and successful aging. However, there is need for continued research in this area to expand the role of the occupational therapy practitioner in prevention and return-to-work interventions focused on the older worker, and to advocate for the value occupational therapy practitioners can contribute to this field.

Keywords: work, gerontology, participation, prevention

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-192924

Journal: Work, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 309-318, 2019