Street-level Decision Making and Practising with De-colonial Intent: Practice is Political Action.

Occupational therapy contributes to the way healthcare and societal networks of power operate. In this critical analysis of practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, legal, economic and material networks of power have been problematised through geneaological examination of occupational therapy practice. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Zealand Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 31 - 40
Main Author: Silcock, E. Mary
Format: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Occupational Therapy New Zealand Sep2020
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Occupational therapy contributes to the way healthcare and societal networks of power operate. In this critical analysis of practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, legal, economic and material networks of power have been problematised through geneaological examination of occupational therapy practice. The everyday decisionmaking of occupational therapists was significantly shaped by the economic models of healthcare delivery and the medico-legal status of being a regulated health professional. The material nature of occupational therapy was able to contest the dominance of these networks. Developing a critical consciousness of underlying normative worldviews and power relations within social structures is necessary to support societal de-colonial healing.