| Description of the theme:
This role pertains to advocating for the client, the community, and, through preventative and health promotion programmes, to advance services that contribute to positive health outcomes for individuals and members in the community. |
| Knowledge:
DoH participants expressed that graduates had to know and understand how the health system interacted with the clients and the community and how the interrelatedness impacted health outcomes. Novice occupational therapists thought that graduates required knowledge of governmental procedures of the Department of Health and the Department of Education to facilitate the referral of clients. Established occupational therapists mentioned that graduates should know and understand their role in empowering a client to take ownership of their health and in health promotion programmes.
Graduates need to have the knowledge, skill and willingness to conduct interventions in the community and clients” homes. (Participant 4, established occupational therapist)
They need to have knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes, you can make such a difference to somebody’s life if you aren’t just focused on treating them. ...like someone who is travelling from really far and has an appointment at your tertiary hospital, go and speak to an operational manager of one of the wards and find out if the person can come in the day before and stay at the ward overnight so that hey not travelling in the dark. (Participant 18, novice occupational therapist) |
| Skills:
The DoH participants stated that graduates also needed to serve as advocates for those they served, e.g., if the client was paraplegic. Still, roads were not adequate for wheelchairs; the therapist needed to contact other role players such as municipalities or human settlements to facilitate better road conditions. All participants expressed for graduates to acquire skills in delivering primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programmes. For example, graduates should implement educational sessions to prevent secondary complications, training about income generation, disability awareness, and awareness groups about health risks. The DoH participants stressed that graduates needed to build the capacity of the CHWs through partnering with them in therapy sessions to ensure task-shifting. They would also have to explore new and nontraditional roles such as being a consultant in a health promotion programme rather than offering direct services.
Graduates must be advocates for the clients they serve. (Participant 24, novice occupational therapist)
I feel like people with disabilities, they [PWD] do not know their rights…
I think empowerment and education they fall hand-in-hand with what graduates need to be able to do because there is no one else providing them with that information. As a small district hospital, we as a rehab team are often involved in the empowerment and education of the client to be able to advocate for the person with a disability. So I think it is definitely in a rural setting, I think empowerment and education are extremely important. (Participant 1, established occupational therapist)
... If you have a paraplegic client, but roads are not adequate for wheelchairs, the therapist needs to contact other role players such as a municipality or human settlement to facilitate better road conditions. (KZN-DoH national manager) |
| Attitudes:
All participants noted that graduates must persevere and negotiate politics in the community and clinical settings despite the obstacles and challenges they would face.
Those politics, you know, being able to be that advocate to make sure that they know that it is needed even if there are challenges. (Participant 27, novice occupational therapist)
An example of advocacy. My patients travelled a great distance and needed to go to a tertiary hospital using hospital transport. I had to negotiate with the ward for the mother and child to stay the night so that when they [the patients] saw the specialist they would better utilise the consult. (Participant 35, novice occupational therapist) |
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