Message from the President: A vital time for collaboration and demonstrating the value of occupational therapy

As I sat down to write my first piece for the Bulletin as the newly elected President of theWorld Federation of Occupational Therapists, it was difficult not to reflect back on 2020. The global COVID-19 pandemic saw our lives change beyond recognition both personally and professionally. And as we entered 2021 not much seemed to have changed, with many of us still experiencing restrictions on daily occupations plus increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in many countries adding further pressures to already strained health systems. However, it is vital to acknowledge that the pandemic has brought opportunities as well as challenges and, as a profession, we have responded and adapted. The WFOT Global Survey (Hoel et al., 2021) documents this well and makes recommendations for future initiatives. Professional organisations and many national occupational therapy associations developed and shared resources regarding good practice; and, in this edition of the WFOT Bulletin, we see how services around the world have evolved and embraced new ways of working to ensure occupational therapy services meet clients’ and societal needs. Before the pandemic, there was awareness of an obvious gap in rehabilitation services around the world. Ten years ago, the World Report on Disability (World Health Organization and World Bank, 2011) showed that 2.4 billion people world-wide were in need of rehabilitation services. Since then, WHO has repeatedly highlighted access to rehabilitation services as essential in embracing universal health coverage and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Whilst COVID-19 has again highlighted the need for access to rehabilitation (Gutenbrunner et al., 2020) it is important that any rehabilitation strategy addresses both COVID-specific rehabilitation needs plus the needs of those who require rehabilitation for reasons other than coping with and recuperating from the COVID virus (De Biase et al., 2020). Recognition of the indirect effects of the pandemic on peoples’ health and well-being is also growing. For many, national and local ‘lockdowns’ have led to occupational marginalisation, whilst for some the change in daily routines and the move to more digital communications can be viewed more positively through the alleviation of some of the physical and emotional barriers faced pre-pandemic. Either way, as the world transitions to the next stage of the pandemic and the roll out of the vaccination allows for more social (re)integration, occupational therapy’s focus on engagement and participation is well placed to help address the physical and psychological barriers to overcoming the effects of occupational deprivation. As we continue to adapt our practices and develop new services, it is critical that we use effective measures to capture and demonstrate the unique contribution of occupational therapy. The WFOT’s Quality Evaluation Strategy Tool (QUEST) can assist with understanding and using Quality Indicators to monitor, evaluate and improve the quality of occupational therapy services. Data from these indicators can then be used to provide evidence and illustrate accountability of how occupational therapy advances health outcomes, enhances satisfaction and optimises use of limited resources. The tool is freely available from WFOT’s website and can be applied regardless of geographic location, practice setting and population being served (WFOT, 2020). A good partner to the QUEST is the Economic Evaluation Tool (WFOT, 2021) which can help demonstrate the cost effectiveness of occupational therapy services and our worth to funders and governments. I would strongly urge you to look at these resources and incorporate them into your practice. They are applicable for use by occupational therapists throughout their careers from studenthood onwards. Every one of us has the professional responsibility to record practice for legal and ethical reasons and to help advance the profession; we all can and should promote the value of occupation. The global pandemic has seen us come together and freely share invaluable resources. More than ever there is a need for the values and vision of occupational therapy through education, service and research led by occupational therapists.