Inga-Britt Lindström, the former president of the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists, stepped down from her position as the president of the board of the non-profit foundation for the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy at the end of 2009. Inga-Britt has been active in the development of the growing profession for more than 30 years and was president of board of the non-profit foundation for the last 15 years. Her excellence and outstanding performance throughout her career have had a significant impact on the development and promotion of the occupational therapy profession. Inga-Britt, thank you for all the work you have done.
During the annual meeting of the board of the non-profit foundation in 2009 I was elected as the president and Gunnar Gamborg from Denmark was elected as vice-president. Together with presidents from the association of occupational therapists in Finland, Norway and Iceland we will continue the work of publishing and promoting the development of the SJOT.
The profession needs research in order to obtain support and recognition. The society needs to obtain scientific evidence for occupational therapy in order to direct resources to different areas of social service and healthcare. Also, as a profession we need to offer our clients a high-quality service, based on scientific knowledge when it is available. When there is less evidence for our service we have the responsibility to develop it. Every occupational therapist has the responsibility to ask critical questions about her/his practice and everyday work. Moreover, the practitioner has the responsibility to be a research consumer, to keep up with research in the field, to be up-to-date with new knowledge and take an active part in its implementation. Furthermore, occupational therapists must support colleagues who are doing the scientific work, and should appreciate their research.
In this process the SJOT is an essential tool; it can be used as an information base for policy and decision-makers, and it is an important tool to help the practitioner to develop evidence in everyday work. In addition, the journal is an important alternative way for researchers to publish their findings. It makes it possible to provide knowledge that has gone through the peer-review process, which ensures the quality of the findings. Moreover, it makes it possible to share the knowledge with other researchers and practitioners. The SJOT is recognized by seven different abstracting and indexing services, and the journal publishes new knowledge in the area of occupational therapy. Research in a profession is essential; it refines and provides the knowledge necessary for offering services that will benefit clients and relatives.