Promoting critically informed learning and knowing about occupation through conference engagements

As occupation-focused discussions and applications of critical theoretical perspectives increase, attention must also be paid to how different spaces of knowledge dissemination, exchange, and production support critically informed learning and knowing about occupation. This paper presents the reflections of a group of international scholars and lecturers whose shared interest in critical theoretical perspectives prompted the incremental co-development of a series of conference engagements. We describe how our group came together, what kinds of learning experiences we developed to promote and support engagement with critical theoretical perspectives, and what understandings we gained through ongoing critical reflexivity about those learning experiences. Our discussion addresses two problematics related to conferences as learning spaces: inclusion, and sustained engagement with epistemic communities and ideas that may form through critically oriented conference sessions. We also discuss how enacting critical pedagogies and principles of ‘unconferencing’ may better promote critically informed ways of learning and knowing occupation than typical conference structures. The paper ends with a call for continued integration of varied critically informed teaching and learning opportunities at conferences, as a means of further encouraging diverse types of knowledge production, sharing, and learning about occupation

Decolonising occupational science education through learning activities based on a study from the Global South

If occupational science education is to become more globally relevant, it must highlight more voices and practices from diverse communities. Learning about occupational justice from the perspectives of Global South communities addresses cognitive injustice and the need to decolonise occupational science education. This paper offers some critical reflections concerning the author’s pedagogic approach, and the ways his research about olive growing in Palestine (Simaan, 2018) informed students’ learning about occupational justice. It focuses on the processes in which students and lecturers engaged within a decolonising approach to occupational science education. A learning activity based on pedagogical processes of ‘conscientization’ (Freire, 1996), critical reflexivity (Whiteford & Townsend, 2011) and intercultural translation (Santos, 2014) is discussed, and lessons learnt by lecturer and students about themselves, their communities, and occupational science are reflected upon. Selected students’ reflections, which illustrate how they positioned themselves in relation to the community studied, and how they interrogated their own reactions to learning about daily lives in Palestine, are discussed. These processes demonstrate the benefits of highlighting local knowledge on occupational justice produced by Global South groups, and how this knowledge might begin to address cognitive injustice and the need to decolonise occupational science pedagogy. More empirical and theoretical work is needed in occupational science education regarding intercultural translations concerning occupational justice, and means of doing and knowing from diverse Global South perspectives

Exploration of recovery of people living with severe mental illness (SMI) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC): A scoping review protocol

Introduction: The construct of recovery was conceptualised in high-income countries and its applicability in low-income and middle- income countries is underexplored. A scoping review is proposed to synthesise knowledge, review conceptual overlap and map key elements of recovery from severe mental illness in low-income and middle-income countries. We aim to appraise the literature so as to inform future recovery-oriented services that consider the cultural and contextual influences on recovery from severe mental illness. Methods and analysis: The following electronic databases: MEDLINE via PubMed, SCOPUS (which included contents of Embase), PsycINFO, CINAHL, Africa-Wide Information, PsycARTICLES, Health source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Academic Search Premier and SocINDEX all via the EBSCOHOST platform, the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, the Cochrane Centre Register of Controlled Trials) and grey literature sources will be searched between May and December 2019. Eligible studies will be independently screened for inclusion and exclusion by two reviewers using a checklist developed for this purpose. Studies published between January 1993 and November 2019 that focus on recovery from severe mental illness in a low-income and middle-income country will be included. Findings will be compared and discrepancies will be discussed. Unresolved discrepancies will be referred to a third reviewer. All bibliographic data and study characteristics will be extracted and thematically analysed using a tool developed through an iterative process by the research team. Indicators will be classified according to a predefined conceptual framework and categorised and described using qualitative content analysis. Ethics and dissemination: The review aims to synthesise information from available publications, hence it does not require ethical approval. The results will be disseminated through publications, conference presentations and future workshops with stakeholders involved within the recovery paradigm of mental health policy and practice. The scoping review title is registered with the Joanna Briggs Institute

Exploration of recovery of people living with severe mental illness (SMI) in low/middle-income countries (LMICs): A scoping review

Objective: To examine the literature on how recovery of people with severe mental illness (SMI) is conceptualised in low/middle-income countries (LMICs), and in particular what factors are thought to facilitate recovery. Design: Scoping review. Data sources and eligibility: We searched 14 electronic databases, hand searched citations and consulted with experts during the period May-December 2019. Eligible studies were independently screened for inclusion and exclusion by two reviewers. Unresolved discrepancies were referred to a third reviewer. Data extraction and synthesis: All bibliographical data and study characteristics were extracted using a data charting form. Selected studies were analysed through a thematic analysis emerging from extracted data. Results: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram offers a summary of the results: 4201 titles, 1530 abstracts and 109 full-Text articles were screened. Ten articles were selected for inclusion: Two from Turkey, two from India, and one each from China, Swaziland, Indonesia, Egypt, South Africa and Vietnam. Although most studies used qualitative methods, data collection and sampling methods were heterogeneous. One study reported on service provider perspectives while the rest provided perspectives from a combination of service users and caregivers. Three themes emerged from the data analysis. First, studies frame recovery as a personal journey occurring along a continuum. Second, there was an emphasis on social relationships as a facilitator of recovery. Third, spirituality emerged as both a facilitator and an indicator of recovery. These themes were not mutually exclusive and some overlap exists. Conclusion: Although there were commonalities with how high-income countries describe recovery, we also found differences in conceptualisation. These differences in how recovery was understood reflect the importance of framing the personal recovery concept in relation to local needs and contextual issues found in LMICs. This review highlighted the current sparse evidence base and the need to better understand recovery from SMI in LMICs