The 30th Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference and Exhibition 2023: An opportunity to acknowledge, celebrate and ignite our occupational achievements

Abstract

Ignite implies to arouse, spark, stimulate, provoke, kindle, and animate. This is the theme for the 30th Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference and Exhibition (OTA-NCE) in June 2023 and we hope the conference will ignite your passion for the profession and the people that you work with. For those who make it to Cairns there will be the chance to ignite (or reignite) those personal connections, friendships, and professional networks so crucial to a sense of belonging, support, kinship, and hope in our work, but for those joining virtually the learning, stimulation, and potential for connection will still be possible. The OTA-NCE 2023 is Australia's occupational therapy's peak professional development event. Held biannually, it is a chance to come together to hear and debate our profession's scientific progress—the contemporary research that is driving practice development and outcomes in every sphere of our discipline. This edition of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal includes the peer-reviewed abstracts of all OTA-NCE oral presentations, representing scientific and professional accomplishments generated by occupational therapists over the last few years. It is a snapshot of the issues that have been occupying us; our research endeavours, our thinking, our questions and our hopes for better outcomes and better lives for those supported by occupational therapists in practice, education, and research. As this is a scientific conference there is a rigorous process in reviewing, ranking, and selecting submissions for oral presentations and e-posters. A dedicated team of reviewers and committee members have worked diligently to ensure that the 30th OTA-NCE program reflects the breadth and depth of occupational therapy practice, education, and research in Australia and internationally. As well, the OTA-NCE Organisation Committee has met monthly to ensure that the Education Day, the three-day scientific program, the exhibition hall participants, guest speakers, and the related extramural conference events are coordinated and scheduled. The dedicated OTA conference staff team have also been integral to ensuring that all the 30th OTA-NCE components are organised, booked, and scheduled. It is important to note that the 30th OTA-NCE is the first major face-to-face national occupational therapy event being held post-Covid-19 pandemic. We all experienced the impact of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic both directly and indirectly. Australians experienced some of the most strict and protracted lockdowns in the world which limited our range of daily activities we could engage in, the friends and family who we could socialise with, and the range and type of productive occupations we undertook. Many occupational therapists had to pivot into other service provision roles during the pandemic as part of the surge health care workforce (such as giving vaccinations to the general public or assisting colleagues' donning and doffing their personal protective equipment) (Ridley et al., 2021). At the same time, many occupational therapists quickly expanded their online technology skills and delivered much needed telehealth and teletherapy services to clients and their families. In many ways, the Covid-19 pandemic created a fundamental paradigm shift in the way we conduct our daily lives as occupational beings. Many TAFE and university students now continue to study online at least part of the time; Medicare-funded telehealth appointments have continued to be funded; many workplaces have shifted to allow employees to hybrid or remote working has continued post-lockdown. One lingering impact of the pandemic is the fact that as many as 45% of those who contracted the virus reported experiencing at least one unresolved symptom of post-Covid-19 condition/Long Covid-19 up to 4 months post infection, with fatigue being the most commonly reported (O'Mahoney et al., 2022). No doubt this negatively impacts individuals' occupational routines, habits, roles, routines, and rituals they engage in (Royal College of Occupational Therapists, 2023). Anecdotally, many Australians report experiencing a ‘lag’ or ‘carryover’ impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the daily occupations they engage in where it feels like daily life activities are a just ‘bit harder’ or take ‘just that much longer’ to accomplish compared to pre-pandemic periods. It appears to have taken a toll on Australians' overall quality of life, health, and well-being post-pandemic (Mercieca-Bebber et al., 2023), all of which is likely to see increased research focus in the next few years. The last few years have also seen many shifts in our education, health, aged, disability and social care systems. Royal Commissions and Inquiries, changing fundings models, and geopolitical and economic instabilities internationally are having an impact on local occupational therapy practice. Natural disasters and climate change are also having ripple effects. Despite the rapid change, Australian occupational therapists continue to show dedication, flexibility, resilience, creativity, innovation, and steadfastness when providing much needed care and services to the clients, families, organisations, and communities. A more positive change we continue to witness is the increasing expectation that occupational therapists partner with people impacted by disability, illness and disadvantage in service design, delivery, evaluation, and research through co-design and coproduction (O'Brien et al., 2021; Slattery et al., 2020). All these issues and more will be in focus at the 30th OTA-NCE in Cairns providing a great chance to take part in high quality, relevant, peer-reviewed professional development. Conference registrants can access the electronic posters and the oral presentations in person or remotely online. Given the annual 30 h of CPD APHRA/OTBA requirement, this is one way to easily fulfil it. Australian and international occupational therapy students, clinicians, managers, researchers, and educators will come together at the OTA-NCE to recognise and applaud the outstanding achievements and progress the discipline has made in the past few years. We invite you to take advantage of the unique and timely experiences that the 30th OTA-NCE has to offer, and leave with ideas ignited, connections rekindled, and full of renewed energy and enthusiasm for your work. Finally, we hope you meet like-minded folks and those who bring different views, challenge you to think again, go beyond, and stay curious.