to educate, recommend, and promote the use of assistive technology to improve the quality of life for their clients. ots are able to understand the unique needs of the individual in regards to occupational performance and have a strong background in activity analysis to focus on helping clients achieve goals. thus, the use of varied and diverse assistive technology is strongly supported within occupational therapy practice models. travel occupational therapy because of the rising need for occupational therapy practitioners in the u.s., many facilities are opting for travel occupational therapy practitioners—who are willing to travel, often out of state, to work temporarily in a facility. assignments can range from 8 weeks to 9 months, but typically last 13–26 weeks in length. travel therapists work in many different settings, but the highest need for therapists are in home health and skilled nursing facility settings. there are no further educational requirements needed to be a travel occupational therapy practitioner; however, there may be different state licensure guidelines and practice acts that must be followed. according to zip recruiter, as of july 2019, the national average salary for a full-time travel therapist is $86,475 with a range between $62,500 to $100,000 across the united states. most commonly (43%), travel occupational therapists enter the industry between the ages of 21–30. occupational justice the practice area of occupational justice relates to the "benefits, privileges and harms associated with participation in occupations" and the effects related to access or denial of opportunities to participate in occupations. this theory brings attention to the relationship between occupations, health, well-being, and quality of life. occupational justice can be approached individually and collectively. the individual path includes disease, disability, and functional restrictions. the collective way consists of public health, gender and sexual identity, social inclusion, migration, and environment. the skills of occupational therapy practitioners enable them to serve as advocates for systemic change, impacting institutions, policy, individuals, communities, and entire populations. examples of populations that experience occupational injustice include refugees, prisoners, homeless persons, survivors of natural disasters, individuals at the end of their life, people with disabilities, elderly living in residential homes, individuals experiencing poverty, children, immigrants, and lgbtqi+ individuals. for example, the role of an occupational therapist working to promote occupational justice may include: analyzing task, modifying activities and environments to minimize barriers to participation in meaningful activities of daily living. addressing physical and mental aspects that may hinder a person's functional ability. provide intervention that is relevant to the client, family, and social context. contribute to global health by advocating for individuals with disabilities to participate in meaningful activities on a global level. occupation therapists are involved with the world health organization (who), non-governmental organizations and community groups and policymaking to influence the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities worldwide occupational therapy practitioners' role in occupational justice is not only to align with perceptions of procedural and social justice but to advocate for the inherent need of meaningful occupation and how it promotes a just society, well-being, and quality of life among people relevant to their context. it is recommended to the clinicians to consider occupational justice in their everyday practice to promote the intention of helping people participate in tasks that they want and need to do. occupational injustice in contrast, occupational injustice relates to conditions wherein people are deprived, excluded or denied of opportunities that are meaningful to them. types of occupational injustices and examples within the ot practice include: occupational deprivation: the exclusion from meaningful occupations due to external factors that are beyond the person's control. for example, a person with difficulties with functional mobility may find it challenging to reintegrate into the community due to transportation barriers. • ots can help in raising awareness and bringing communities together to reduce occupational deprivation • ots can recommend the removal of environmental barriers to facilitate occupation, whilst designing programs that enable engagement. • advocacy by providing information to policy to prevent possible unintended occupational deprivation and increase social cohesion and inclusion occupational apartheid: the exclusion of a person in chosen occupations due to personal characteristics such as age, gender, race, nationality, or socioeconomic status. an example can be seen in children with developmental disabilities from low socioeconomic backgrounds whose families would opt out of therapy due to financial constraints. • ots providing interventions within a segregated population must focus on increasing occupational engagement through large-scale environmental modification and occupational exploration. • ots can address occupational engagement through group and individual skill-building opportunities, as well as community-based experiences that explore free and local resources occupational marginalization: relates to how implicit norms of behavior or societal expectations prevent a person from engaging in a chosen occupation. as an example, a child with physical impairments may only be offered table-top leisure activities instead of sports as an extracurricular activity due to the functional limitations caused by his physical impairments. • ots can design, develop, and/or provide programs that mitigate the negative impacts of occupational marginalization and enhance optimal levels of performance and wellbeing that enable participation occupational imbalance: the limited participation in a meaningful occupation brought about by another role in a different occupation. this can be seen in the situation of a caregiver of a person with a disability who also has to fulfill other roles such as being a parent to other children, a student, or a worker. • ots can advocate fostering for supportive environments for participation in occupations that promote individuals' well-being and in advocating for building healthy public policy occupational alienation: the imposition of an occupation that does not hold meaning for that person. in the ot profession, this manifests in the provision of rote activities that do not really relate to the goals or the client's interests. • ots can develop individualized activities tailored to the interests of the individual to maximize their potential. • ots can design, develop and promote programs that can be inclusive and provide a variety of choices that the individual can engage in. within occupational therapy practice, injustice may ensue in situations wherein professional dominance, standardized treatments, laws and political conditions create a negative impact on the occupational engagement of our clients. awareness of these injustices will enable the therapist to reflect on his own practice and think of ways in approaching their client's problems while promoting occupational justice. community-based therapy as occupational therapy (ot) has grown and developed, community-based practice has blossomed from an emerging area of practice to a fundamental part of occupational therapy practice (scaffa & reitz, 2013). community-based practice allows for ots to work with clients and other stakeholders such as families, schools, employers, agencies, service providers, stores, day treatment and day care and others who may influence the degree of success the client will have in participating. it also allows the therapist to see what is actually happening in the context and design interventions relevant to what might support the client in participating and what is impeding her or him from participating. community-based practice crosses all of the categories within which ots practice from physical to cognitive, mental health to spiritual, all types of clients may be seen in community-based settings. the role of the ot also may vary, from advocate to consultant, direct care provider to program designer, adjunctive services to therapeutic leader. nature-based therapy nature-based interventions and outdoor activities may be incorporated into occupational therapy practice as they can provide therapeutic benefits in various ways. examples include therapeutic gardening, animal-assisted therapy (aat), and adventure therapy. for instance, parents reported improvement in the emotional regulation and social engagement of their children with autism spectrum disorder (asd) in a study of parental perceptions regarding the outcomes of aat conducted with trained dogs. they also observed reductions in problematic behaviors. a source cited in the study found similar results with aat employing horses and llamas. gardening in a group setting may serve as a complementary intervention in stroke rehabilitation; in addition to being mentally restful and conducive to social connection, it helps patients master skills and can remind them of experiences from their past. royal rehab's productive garden project in australia, managed by a horticultural therapist, allows patients and practitioners to participate in meaningful activity outside the usual healthcare settings. thus, tending a garden helps facilitate experiential activities, perhaps attaining a better balance between clinical and real-life pursuits during rehabilitation, in lieu of mainly relying on clinical interventions. for adults with acquired brain injury, nature-based therapy has been found to improve motor abilities, cognitive function, and general quality of life. contributing to a theoretical understanding of such successes in nature-based approaches are: nature's positive impact on problem solving and the refocusing of attention; an innate human connection with, and positive response to, the natural world; an increased sense of well-being when in contact with nature; and the emotional, nonverbal, and cognitive aspects of human-environment interaction. education worldwide, there is a range of qualifications required to practice as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant. depending on the country and expected level of practice, degree options include associate degree, bachelor's degree, entry-level master's degree, post-professional master's degree, entry-level doctorate (otd), post-professional doctorate (drot or otd), doctor of clinical science in ot (cscd), doctor of philosophy in occupational therapy (phd), and combined otd/phd degrees. both occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant roles exist internationally. currently in the united states, dual points of entry exist for both ot and ota programs. for ot, that is entry-level master's or entry-level doctorate. for ota, that is associate degree or bachelor's degree. the world federation of occupational therapists (wfot) has minimum standards for the education of ots, which was revised in 2016. all of the educational programs around the world need to meet these minimum standards. these standards are subsumed by and can be supplemented with academic standards set by a country's national accreditation organization. as part of the minimum standards, all programs must have a curriculum that includes practice placements (fieldwork). examples of fieldwork settings include: acute care, inpatient hospital, outpatient hospital, skilled nursing facilities, schools, group homes, early intervention, home health, and community settings. the profession of occupational therapy is based on a wide theoretical and evidence based background. the ot curriculum focuses on the theoretical basis of occupation through multiple facets of science, including occupational science, anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and neurology. in addition, this scientific foundation is integrated with knowledge from psychology, sociology and more. in the united states, canada, and other countries around the world, there is a licensure requirement. in order to obtain an ot or ota license, one must graduate from an accredited program, complete fieldwork requirements, and pass a national certification examination. theoretical frameworks a distinguishing facet of occupational therapy is that therapists often espouse the use theoretical frameworks to frame their practice. many have argued that the use of theory complicates everyday clinical care and is not necessary to provide patient-driven care. note that terminology differs between scholars. an incomplete list of theoretical bases for framing a human and their occupations include the following: generic models generic models are the overarching title given to a collation of compatible knowledge, research and theories that form conceptual practice. more generally they are defined as "those aspects which influence our perceptions, decisions and practice". the person environment occupation performance model (peop) was originally published in 1991 (charles christiansen & m. carolyn baum) and describes an individual's performance based on four elements including: environment, person, performance and occupation. the model focuses on the interplay of these components and how this interaction works to inhibit or promote successful engagement in occupation. occupation-focused practice models occupational therapy intervention process model (otipm) (anne fisher and others) occupational performance process model (oppm) model of human occupation (moho) (gary kielhofner and others) moho was first published in 1980. it explains how people select, organise and undertake occupations within their environment. the model is supported with evidence generated over thirty years and has been successfully applied throughout the world. canadian model of occupational performance and engagement (cmop-e) occupational performances model – australia (opm-a) (chris chapparo & judy ranka) the opm(a) was conceptualized in 1986 with its current form launched in 2006. the opm(a) illustrates the complexity of occupational performance, the scope of occupational therapy practice, and provides a framework for occupational therapy education. kawa (river) model (michael iwama) biopsychosocial