What will I learn on this module?
This module will help you to understand how occupational therapy is responding to emerging socio-economic, ecological, technological, and political determinants of health. Drawing on knowledge gained during Level 4, particularly in occupation in context 1 and 2 modules, you will deepen your understanding of health and wellbeing needs for individuals, communities and populations.
You will explore common causes of mortality, morbidity and disability. Examples of themes include individual and population health concerns relating to ageing, lifestyle, mental health and wellbeing, neurodiversity, race, gender, and intersectionality; work-health, and disaster/climate response. Using real-world scenarios, you will consider how this informs contemporary occupational therapy practice. These may include expansions in primary care and community services, preventative models of health, the role of technology, and responding to global issues. You will also understand how policy and legislation guides and informs developments.
People with lived experience have been involved in identifying core values. In this module, you will extend your understanding of the occupations of people, communities and societies, opening up discussions about decolonisation of occupational therapy practice. You will also draw on a range of perspectives to critically reflect on assumptions, challenges of health systems and about ways of working as an occupational therapist.
At level 5, you will continue use of the ePortfolio to further develop your analytical and reflective skills and set yourself learning outcomes.
How will I learn on this module?
All learning on the BSc Occupational Therapy programme is designed to be transformative and experiential, and this module is delivered through a series of workshop sessions which include taught material, discussion, and practical activities.
We will use ‘real world’ scenarios and authentic materials (e.g. health information, podcasts about health experiences) to reflect diverse experiences of health, occupation and occupational therapy. You will be encouraged to use personal experience and varied sources of information to generate conversations about how occupational therapists work with people.
The e-learning portal will signpost you to contemporary, high quality information sources such as research evidence and occupational theory. The site provides a wide variety of core and supplementary information to encourage you to engage fully in the module and build effective academic skills.
You will have the opportunity to gather examples of activities and evidence of your learning, self-appraisal and reflection to contribute to your student ePortfolio. This aims to enhance your learning by taking you beyond the limits of the individual module, and helping foster lifelong learning, as portfolios support inquiry, reflection and integration of learning. Items for your ePortfolio could include session worksheets on health conditions and public health issues, or your critique of education leaflets.
Guided reading is provided to encourage you to be intellectually curious, and in class activities will encourage you to challenge ideas and concepts. Learning materials will be varied and creative, with attention to the decolonisation of the curriculum, sharing multi-voiced and non-traditional perspectives on occupation.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
The identified module tutor, alongside the module teaching team, will structure learning opportunities to support your learning and skill development within the module and to assist you to work towards the module assessment.
The e-learning portal will provide a repository for all module information, including a module guide, electronic reading list, detailed assessment guidance, and week by week guidance on how to engage with the module content.
You will receive ongoing tutor guidance to support your journey, including a formative assessment (with feedback) to facilitate your summative submission, a group assessment tutorial and tailored feedback and feed forward on your performance in your final assessment.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Understand how occupational therapy is responding to emerging socio-economic, ecological, technological, political determinants of health needs.
2. Understand how occupation can influence health and wellbeing and apply this to occupational therapy practice.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Retrieve and apply professional sources of knowledge which help to understand individual, community and population health issues
4. Select and justify appropriate technologies to communicate information to people and communities
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Interpret and integrate evidence with people’s lived experience
How will I be assessed?
Formative assessment:
You will be given the opportunity to engage in formative learning activities during sessions which will aid your preparation for the final summative assessment
Summative assessment:
You will create a research-informed poster and deliver an oral defense (10 minutes).
You will choose from a range of pre-prepared scenarios. The poster will include
• An analysis of the health issue from an occupational perspective, considering a range of contemporary factors
• A proposal of a research-informed occupational therapy intervention to address this issue or need
• A proposal to communicate this health intervention to people and communities through a range of contemporary and accessible methods.
• Integrating the service-user perspective to inform reasoning about intervention and communication methods.
You will pay particular attention to diversity and social justice, adopting an inclusive, globally-aware approach, and value people with lived experience as partners.
Your summative assessment mark and feedback will be returned to you within the University standard of 20 working days, normally accessed through the module eLP site.
Module abstract
This module explores how occupational therapy is responding to emerging socio-economic, ecological, technological, and political determinants of health. Drawing on Level 4 learning, you will deepen your understanding of health and wellbeing needs for individuals, communities and populations.
Examples of themes include ageing, lifestyle, mental health and wellbeing, neurodiversity, race, gender, and intersectionality; work-health, and disaster/climate response. You will consider how contemporary occupational therapy practice is influencing, and being influenced by these themes, for example expansions in primary care and community services, preventative models of health, and the role of technology. You will also understand how policy and legislation guides and informs developments.
You will develop your understanding of people and communities, highlighting the role of occupational therapy in supporting just, meaningful and dignified occupational lives. The assessment guides you to interpret a contemporary health issue from an occupational perspective and to communicate information in an accessible way.
