Health Promotion & Health Literacy

I was excited to learn more about health promotion and literacy in our foundations class. While I had previously learned about the determinants of health (biology & genetics, individual behavior, social environment, physical environment, and health services), I found it really interesting to learn about the role of occupational therapy in health promotion. I learned that the presence of occupational therapists in hospitals has been shown to prevent readmission. This can probably be attributed to the way in which occupational therapists support an individual who is in the hospital in determining whether they are able to live safely independently, addressing their existing disability with assistive devices, and performing home safety assessments before they are discharged from the hospital.

I was especially struck by one of the videos we discussed in which women who are in wheelchairs stated that they are screenable for mammograms. I learned that women who are in a wheelchair die from breast cancer at a significantly higher rate than women who are not, most likely because they are also referred to mammograms at a much lower rate. As OT students, we think about how to make living spaces and daily activities more adaptable and accessible. However, this reminded me of other scenarios in which wheelchair users may come across challenges or uncomfortable situations.