Social Occupational Therapy, Impoverished Youth, and Everyday Urban Mobility

• Published in: South African Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol. 51; no. 4
• Main Authors: Villa, Monica alves, Paula Serrata Ana Malfitano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Johannesburg Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Citizenship; College students; Colleges & universities; Data collection; Education; Human rights; Intervention; Occupational therapy; Professional practice; Therapists; Brazil
• ISSN: 0038-2337; 2310-3833
• DOI: 10.17159/2310-3833/2021/vol51n4a5

Considering social participation as an objective in Social Occupational Therapy, we discuss the incorporation of the concept of Everyday Urban Mobility from four of its action technologies: (a) workshops/activities, dynamics and projects; b) individual territorial follow-ups; c) articulation of resources in the social field; d) dynamization of the support network. Based on data from a research study with impoverished young favela dwellers in Brazil, this study included a secondary analysis of these data, and discusses how urban mobility could be incorporated into social occupational therapy practices. We conclude that social occupational therapy (from a political perspective of mobility), can develop actions to facilitate the urban mobility of young people and use it as a point of departure for occupational therapy professional practice. In doing so, it becomes possible to apply mobility as an objective, a resource, a means of assessing everyday life, and/or an aspect to be considered in micro- and macro-social work endeavours that are linked to social policies.