Occupational stewardship: Advancing a vision of occupational justice and sustainability

On a global scale there is growing concern about rising disaster risk and the consequences of human occupations on the environment, and increasing attention given to these issues within occupational science and occupational therapy. However, not much is known about the potential contribution of an occupational perspective to this complex global health issue. This paper aims to add to the concept of occupational justice and collectively-oriented and transactional views of occupation by situating occupation within the broader context of natural disaster, resilience and sustainability. It draws attention to the systemic bias in traditional Western attitudes toward anthropocentrism and calls for critical reflection upon how occupational science positions occupation, in an effort to enable environmentally sustainable, inclusive and healthy societies. Following this discussion, a new (grounded) theory of occupation and framework is introduced based on research in the field of disaster. Implications are discussed in terms of enabling occupational justice while protecting the ecological integrity of life.