Occupational therapy students' contribution towards enabling potential in a semi-rural community

Issue title: Occupational Work Therapy Practice in South Africa

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Olivier, Marlene | Oosthuizen, Lauri | Casteleijn, Daleen

Affiliations: Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, PO Box 667, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa

Note: [] Corresponding author. Tel./Fax: +27 12 3297800; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Occupational therapy students at the University of Pretoria engage in a 7-week service learning fieldwork in their fourth year. This fieldwork takes place in a semi-rural community. The article reports on a successful project where the students enabled adult learners with disabilities to improve their engagement in meaningful activities and trained the learners in selected prevocational skills. The students included a teacher from the center and she was given the opportunity to expand her skills in teaching as well. The ZOPP model of community project planning was used and proved to be a useful tool for students who have limited time for planning, implementation and evaluation of a project.

Keywords: Prevocational skills training programme, ZOPP model, enabling potential

Journal: Work, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 63-68, 2007