PromOTing Occupational Therapy: Words, Images, and Actions

In 1922, the Fred Stone Circus came to the Mineola Fairground for the benefit of the Occupational Therapy Society of New York (Blair, 2011; “Vaudeville on Wheels, Novelty at Benefit,” 1922). You may wonder how a circus can promote occupational therapy. Well, to paraphrase a story that apparently first appeared in Reader’s Digest, if you painted a sign saying “Fred Stone Circus Coming to the Mineola Fairground on Saturday at 2:15, rain or shine, for the benefit of the Occupational Therapy Society of New York,” that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and Annie Oakley walks it into Mineola, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through Mayor LaGuardia’s flower bed, that’s publicity. And if you get the mayor to joke about it, that’s public relations. If you tell your friend Nancy about the circus, that’s word of mouth. And, if you planned this chain of events, you promOTed occupational therapy through words, images, and actions.Now, fast forward to 2012. The ways that information flows through societal networks have evolved considerably, and you would now also be using social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube to promote this event. You would create an event page on Facebook and ask people to let their friends know about the fundraising event for the Occupational Therapy Society of New York. On LinkedIn, you would start a discussion about how to get more sponsors for the event. You would make a YouTube video of the elephant and Annie Oakley and Photoshop Annie as wearing a T-shirt that says, “I love OT.” Your 140-character tweet would read, “Post your pic w/ @Annie Oakley1860 & elephant #OTCircus.”We live in a world of limited resources that is technologically complex, economically competitive, and growing more politically accountable with consumer power on the rise. The good news is that this is a world of limitless opportunities for occupational therapy, in which an occupational therapy practitioner could beWe must be farsighted if we are to create the future we desire. The Centennial Vision of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA; 2007) provides a set of guideposts to this future. However, we must work diligently—individually and collectively—to ensure that occupation is recognized as our central construct and to communicate how it shapes and informs our methods and outcomes through infusion in education, research, and practice. We must be aggressive in our support of, and advocacy for, scientific inquiry and pragmatic investigation that build the profession’s evidence-based body of knowledge. We must participate in strategic partnerships and interprofessional teams to construct communities where human occupation is recognized as fundamental to quality of life and social participation, as well as central to social, educational, and health care policies in the United States and the global community. We can and will reach this envisioned future by promOTing occupational therapy through our words, images, and actions.Although it has been said that “words connote reality” (Coster, 2008, p. 744), one must learn to use them skillfully because, in words often attributed to George Bernard Shaw, “The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” This means two things: One, we cannot assume that our beliefs are known by an audience, and, two, we cannot assume that our beliefs are shared by the audience. Occupational therapy practitioners and students become accomplished communicators only when they can effectively communicate that occupation is essential to individuals’ and society’s health and well-being. We are health communicators, and the words we use are important as we “share health-related information with the goal of influencing, engaging and supporting individuals, communities, health professionals, special groups, policy makers and the public to champion, introduce, adopt, or sustain a behavior, practice or policy that will ultimately improve health outcomes” (Schiavo, 2007, p. 7).Whether you are an amateur shutterbug, accomplished photographer, or simply one who appreciates art, I am sure you are familiar with the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A complex idea can be conveyed with just one image. We can use images to convey the power of participation in society as a bridge to health for people, regardless of age or ability. Just imagine a traveling exhibit of our photographs that appears in the hallways of high-visibility venues like airports, libraries, state houses, and schools. Putting images of occupational therapy in the public’s eye helps illustrate what we do as well as its value. Alison Sullivan, assistant professor of occupational therapy at the American International College, did just that! 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