The theme for World Occupational Therapy Day 2024 is ‘Occupational Therapy for All’. The theme reflects the important role of the profession to facilitate the ability of individuals, communities and populations to participate in the activities that they want, need or are expected to do in their daily lives.
Source: Text: https://wfot.org/news/2024/launch-of-the-world-occupational-therapy-day-2024-theme Image: https://wfot.org/resources/world-occupational-therapy-day-2024-translated-logos
Why Is World Occupational Therapy Day Celebrated?
World Occupational Therapy Day is celebrated to thank occupational therapists and the work they do to help others. It can help people to understand their role in greater depth, and allow occupational therapists to share their goals with others.
The event also promotes occupational therapy as a profession. It can be an extremely rewarding career for those who choose it, so it’s important that as many people as possible understand what occupational therapy is all about and how they can enter the profession.
What Do Occupational Therapists Do?
Occupational therapy is a branch of healthcare; occupational therapists help people of all ages in lots of different areas. They can support people with their mobility, motor skills, and daily tasks. Their role is to work with a person, identify strengths and difficulties that they experience in everyday life, and find ways to tackle these things.
Occupational therapists can help adults and children with mobility problems, SEND, and those struggling to adapt after an operation. They can also help elderly people who are finding that ageing is affecting how they carry out their daily tasks.
No matter what the person’s circumstances are, an occupational therapist’s aim is to develop someone’s confidence and independence in carrying out their daily tasks, or other activities.
On October 12th of each year, World Arthritis Day spreads awareness about the most prevalent disease in the world. This awareness day highlights the need for early diagnosis and treatment.
Patients living with sickle cell disease live with many challenges. The presence of sickle hemoglobin leads to sickling of the red blood cells and activation of white blood cells which together block the microcapillaries that bring oxygen to tissues producing bouts of pain, sometimes requiring hospitalization, and damaging many tissues in the body. There is a tremendous unmet medical need facing those whose lives are impacted by this devastating disease.