Occupation for Population Health: An Appreciation

Abstract

This review of papers in the Special Issue of the Journal of Occupational Science, Occupation for Population Health, finds evidence of a maturing discipline engaged in interdisciplinary dialogues and collaborations applying the core construct of occupation to pressing issues of public health. This achievement realizes the vision of founding editor of JOS, Ann Wilcock, who called for an occupational perspective of health that recognizes units of analysis and intervention greater than the individual. Contributors to the theme issue such as the Inaugural Wilcock Lecturer Anthony Capon cogently argue that pressing and intractable public health problems of our time can be linked to human occupations as cause and cure. Occupational scientists will need to take the lead to steer this conversation, fostering interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to support occupational conceptualizations of public health problems and their amelioration.

Keywords:

• Population health
• Occupational science
• Interdisciplinarity