Occupational Therapy

The Department of Occupational Therapy is part of the School of Therapeutic Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It is an academic and clinical research department within the rehabilitation sciences.

Its research strengths lie in primary health care rehabilitation, community based practice, service integration and health systems strengthening. Work in the department also addresses documentation quality, multidisciplinary collaboration and equitable access to services, with attention to functioning outcomes and user satisfaction in public health settings.

Further themes include qualitative inquiry into lived experience, policy informed service evaluation and responsiveness to underserved groups, among them stroke survivors, adolescents in healthcare transition, people who use substances and forcibly displaced individuals. The research is focused on South Africa, particularly metropolitan districts such as Johannesburg.