9 - Occupational Therapy Practice Models

Abstract

In occupational therapy, there has been substantial development of models of practice. In this chapter five occupational therapy models of practice are reviewed: Model of Human Occupation (MOHO), Person-Environment-Occupation Model (PEO), Occupational Performance Model (Australia) (OPM(A)), Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E), and Kawa Model. Each model is described and the notion of occupation, conceptualisation of the occupational therapy scope of practice and recommendations for use in practice are made explicit. These five models of practice demonstrate different conceptualisations of occupation and therefore occupational therapy. MOHO emphasises the intertwined nature of the action of people in their environments and contributes a substantial bank of assessment tools to occupational therapy practice. PEO takes an ecological view, in which the congruence among person, environment and occupation in an event underpins occupational performance. OPM(A) presents occupation as a process through which people enact occupational performance roles. CMOP-E presents occupation as the bridge between person and environment. Kawa highlights the importance of creating a culturally relevant approach to occupation.