Occupational therapy within layers of disasters, poverty and conflict: a case study

Abstract

Disasters result in multiple, chronic and layered difficulties for individuals and communities. The occupational lives of persons displaced by a disaster as well as the community that hosts them are negatively affected. Occupational therapists are in a position to enable these persons and communities to cope with disasters, poverty and conflict. However, very few are equipped with the knowledge and skills to work with this group of people. This case study describes the work done by an occupational therapist with evacuees who were victims of flooding in an urban poor community. It highlights how her knowledge of occupation facilitated her assumption of different roles in her work with the evacuees.