Success in the AOTA Representative Assembly

Written by Madelyn Yoo, OTS

The American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) Representative Assembly (RA), or “Congress” of the organization, is the governing body responsible for the development and approval of professional policies and standards. With at least one representative from each of the 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, the RA is informed by a variety of perspectives on occupational therapy. The assembly gathers at least twice each year to review Requests for Action, submitted by the Association’s members, and Motions, put forth by representatives but based on originally submitted Requests.

In May 2021, the RA discussed a climate change-related Request for Action submitted by Bill Wong, a member of the Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action (OTEA). The request called for the development of an association position paper on occupational therapy's role in sustainability and climate change. The RA approved this request and moved to appoint a work group to gather evidence and develop a briefing paper to inform the RA on whether formal action is needed. Prior to the Fall 2021 RA Meeting, an assigned group of representatives discussed specifications for next steps. Addressing the work group component, they created Motion 9: Establish a Task Force on Sustainability and Climate Change. Observing that specifics on sustainability and climate change were missing from AOTA Official Documents, standards, and policies, the representatives also generated Motion 8: Develop a professional policy on Sustainability and Climate Change. That November, both motions were adopted, leading to the creation of Policy E.16: Occupational Therapy’s Commitment to Sustainability and Climate Change and Task Force on Sustainability and Climate Change. Several members and supporters of OTEA were involved in the enactment of both motions, including Madelyn Yoo, Carol Myers, and Bill Wong on the professional policy and Steve Taff, Moses Ikiugu, and Susan Lingelbach on the Task Force.

Policy E.16: Occupational Therapy’s Commitment to Sustainability and Climate Change was formally approved and adopted at the Spring 2022 RA Meeting that took place in March. The document articulates the association's commitment to addressing occupations in a manner that considers future generations and marginalized communities’ ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change through education, practice, research, policy, and advocacy. Meanwhile, the Task Force continued to meet and discuss occupational therapy recommendations for facilitating shifts in education, practice, advocacy, and research related to sustainability. At the Fall 2022 RA Meeting, they shared an interim report on their results and their final report in February 2023.

After receiving the Task Force on Sustainability and Climate Change’s final report, including an executive summary and overview of recommendations, the RA discussed findings and decided to distinguish them in three separate Motions. The first, Motion 4: Establish a Work Group on Sustainability and Climate Change in Occupational Therapy Education, aims to further explore existing curricula and instruction’s inclusion of sustainability and climate change, identify opportunities and challenges in incorporating these topics into programs, and locate resources and gaps for integration. The second Motion, Motion 5: Develop a Societal Statement on Sustainability and Climate Change, called for a societal statement to further convey the Association’s commitment to addressing the intersection of health care, climate change, and sustainability in its support of occupational justice. Finally, Motion 6: Design a Strategic Implementation Plan for Sustainability Recommendations, was created to establish a joint task force of the AOTA Board of Directors and Representative Assembly to examine the feasibility of recommendations outlined by the Report of the Task Force on Sustainability and Climate Change to the Representative Assembly to prioritize for implementation. All three of these Motions were presented before the RA at the Spring 2023 Meeting. All three were approved, marking another important step toward progress in occupational therapy climate action.

Such advances stem from grassroots efforts of individuals and organizations like OTEA who are concerned about the state of the climate. Though OTEA does not encompass all concerned occupational therapy professionals, we serve as a network to connect and collectively advocate for our institutions to support a vision of healthier humans and healthier environments, both of which are necessary for occupation. Hearing the thoughts and opinions of representatives all across the nation signified a spectrum of concern, but concern nonetheless. Some of the challenges presented include juggling an additional educational component amidst tightening ACOTE standards as well as practical translation of concepts in medical model settings. These valid points illuminate the complexity of our systems and institutions, all of which are subject to the impact of climate change. Yet the challenge serves as an opportunity for our profession, centered on human activity, to creatively explore solutions that alleviate and prevent ills of the Anthropocene.