Spotlight: Sam Allen, OTS
Since learning about Western wildfires in the second grade, Sam Allen has been concerned with climate chaos and creating positive change. Over time, his elementary school understanding of his role in climate action grew into an interest in public health and climate policy at a population level. Now, as a second year occupational therapy doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis, Sam is at the forefront of student-led research investigating the intersection between climate change and occupational therapy through his doctoral capstone project.
Capstone Project: Examining Occupational Therapy Curriculum
Under the mentorship of Parul Bakshi (a renowned social psychologist and assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis), Sam is examining if/how occupational therapy programs in the U.S. fulfill the World Federation of Occupational Therapy’s principles for educating occupational therapists on climate conditions and the role of occupational therapy in the mitigation of environmental damage. Currently, Sam is conducting a scoping review on existing literature on climate change and occupational therapy. He plans to use his review to create a resource for professors, staff, and practitioners to learn about current research on climate change. In the next phase of his project, Sam intends to contact occupational therapy programs across the country to analyze faculty perceptions about climate change and its implementation in their courses. Using this information, Sam plans to highlight any discrepancies between programs and the World Federation of Occupational Therapy’s recommendations in an effort to improve the education of occupational therapy students. He hopes that his work will ultimately motivate occupational therapy programs to imbed education about ecological sustainability into their coursework and inspire research on sustainability as a component of evidence-based practice.
Hopes for the Future of Occupational Therapy Practice
As the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent (such as the recent tornadoes a few hours from Sam’s campus in nearby Kentucky – the deadliest tornadoes in the state’s history), Sam appreciates the growing individual efforts towards climate action. However, he emphasizes the importance of action on a bigger scale – an organizational, practice-wide scale – to create lasting change. To accomplish this change, Sam maintains that conversations around sustainability must include political engagement as a key occupational area. He hopes that the future of occupational therapy will better address voting, contacting representatives, and other methods of political engagement as significant occupations. Additionally, Sam looks forward to a future for his profession in which the two way-interaction between climate change and occupational lifestyles is more widely understood (as climate change limits occupational opportunities and unsustainable occupational lifestyles exacerbate climate change). In turn, he anticipates that this increased understanding will advance his profession into one of more ecologically-conscious students and practitioners with more sustainable methods of practice.
For other occupational therapy students interested in sustainability research, Sam suggests simply “Go for it,” stating that this emerging area desperately needs more literature.
For students or practitioners looking for a place to start their learning, Sam is inspired by and recommends the publications of Dr. Moses Ikiugu in addition to the article “Intergenerational Occupational Justice: Ethically Reflecting on the Climate Crisis” by Marie-Josée Drolet, Marjorie Désormeaux-Moreau, Muriel Soubeyran, and Sarah Thiébaut. A full list of Dr. Ikiugu’s publications can be found here and the link to the full-text article on intergenerational occupational justice can be found here.
Spotlight written by Kelly Carlson