Ethics in Occupational Therapy – An African Perspective

Abstract

Occupational therapy is a client-centred profession seeking to enable people to attain/maintain good health and well-being through their participation in daily life activities. Recent developments in the profession have heightened the need for the inclusion of ethics from an African perspective and also the importance of the involvement of all stakeholders namely, occupational therapy students, educators, clinicians, regulatory bodies and the population being served. The first section focusses on the current gaps and challenges in ethics within the practice of occupational therapy in Africa. A synthesis of African literature is provided on how ethical issues are addressed in occupational therapy education and practices. Contextualised examples of ethical issues encountered by students, educators and therapists are presented. The second section of this chapter discusses the socialised model which promotes the principle of respect for patient autonomy and protection of patients’ rights and the mutual relationship model which promotes the cultural belief, bio-psychosocial and patient-centred approaches. Furthermore, the integration of the ethical principles, legal expectations, policies and Acts that govern the occupational therapy profession are highlighted. Furthermore, the unique ethical dilemmas faced by occupational therapists practising in Africa are emphasised. In the third section, the relevance of ethics in material principles of distributive justice in occupational therapy practice in Africa is presented, specifically given the resource-poor nature of many African countries. The concept of occupational justice is evolving and gaining recognition among occupational therapists and occupational scientists in Africa and its implications in ethics are further explored in this section. In the last section, recommendations are provided for maintaining ethical standards in line with the ambit and ethos of the profession. In the conclusion, areas that require further research in ethical practice of occupational therapy with individuals, groups and communities in the African context are elucidated.