Occupational Therapists are health
professionals skilled in physical and psychosocial rehabilitation for people
with disabilities, chronic diseases, and other medical conditions. Occupational
therapy is dedicated to enabling individuals to participate in fruitful and
meaningful activities of life. During the evaluation and intervention process,
practitioners interact and collaborate with patients and their caregivers to
achieve better results. By considering limitations and abilities of a patient,
environmental features, and the specific demands of the activities that are
important for the family or patient, occupational therapy practitioners help
their patients to live life to its fullest.
How occupational therapy helps chronic disease management?
Occupational Therapy supports chronic
disease management in several ways based on the nature and course of the
specific conditions, goals for patients with chronic health conditions may
include following:
·
Attending problems or symptoms
associated with specific chronic illness to manage and sustain current
abilities.
·
Developing strategies to embed
energy conservation and activity modification techniques into daily schedule to
cope with physical demands and reduce fatigue associated with many chronic
conditions.
·
Individualising adaptations to
efficiently conduct routine health management activities.
·
Learning and incorporating
health management tasks into current habits so they become part of patient’s
routine.
·
Teaching and demonstrating
techniques to ease stress, help cope with pain, manage tiredness, or difficult
symptoms associated with the disease.
·
Adapting activities to make
them suitable for changing abilities and enable activities to continue.
·
Developing cope strategies,
behaviour, habits, routines, and lifestyle adaptations to support physical and
psychosocial health and well-being.
In occupational therapy, self management is
recognised as an effective method to the management of chronic health
conditions. It is the individual’s ability to manage the symptoms, treatment,
physical and psychosocial consequences and lifestyle changes inherent in living
with a chronic disease. Efficacious self-management includes ability to monitor
one’s condition and to affect the cognitive, behavioural, and emotional responses
essential to keep an adequate quality of life.
