Early in the fall of 2010, we received a sad message that one of the leading researchers and theoreticians within occupational therapy, Professor Gary Kielhofner, had passed away. Well-known internationally, many colleagues around the world have met and enjoyed discussions with Professor Kielhofner on topics within occupational therapy. His work on the Model of Human Occupation is widespread and occupational therapists around the world have come across different aspects of his work.
The fourth edition of the Model of Human Occupation in 2008 marked how Professor Kielhofner's continuing involvement in research projects, led to the development of the model. He served as a mentor and collaborator in research from different areas and with colleagues worldwide. Several papers within our journal have been co-authored by Professor Kielhofner. Most recently, in our last issue of the journal, nr 3, 2010, we published a review of evidence regarding work-related interventions specifically related to the Model of Human Occupation, an occupation-focused theory. This area of research is one of the important areas that occupational therapy is facing: our ability to make evaluations on work and the work ability of our clients. The review supports occupational therapists in showing the range of evaluations that are available and the type of information those different evaluations provide. The article also describes how Professor Kielhofner remained involved in current research to support occupational therapy practice.
In Scandinavia, Professor Kielhofner has played a very special role. As early as 1985, when he first visited Sweden, his ability to describe the core of occupational therapy gave us a feeling of pride and confidence as occupational therapists. Professor Kielhofner has been appointed Doctor of Honor at Linköping University, and Foreign Visiting Professor at Karolinska Institutet, although he was not able to start these visits.
Professor Kielhofner was working at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The Department Head at UIC, Professor Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, describes his vision: “As a visionary, he thought of a world of peace, in which social justice reigns and individuals' occupational performance needs are met.” As Professor Kielhofner impacted our lives as occupational therapists in so many ways, it seems fitting to honour him by continuing to develop occupational therapy to meet the needs of our clients.
Birgitta Bernspång
Editor-in-chief