second special theme issue: occupation, well-being and immigration
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Second Special Theme Issue:Occupation, Well-being andImmigrationJyothi Gupta PhD, OTR/L aa Doctor of Physical Therapy Program & Department ofOccupational Science and Occupational Therapy , HenriettaSchmoll School of Health, St. Catherine University , Minneapolis ,USAPublished online: 17 May 2013.
To cite this article: Jyothi Gupta PhD, OTR/L (2013) Second Special Theme Issue: Occupation,Well-being and Immigration, Journal of Occupational Science, 20:2, 105-106, DOI:10.1080/14427591.2013.792316
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2013.792316
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Second Special Theme Issue:
Occupation, Well-being and Immigration
This second installment of the spe-
cial issue on Occupation, Well-being
and Immigration includes eight fea-
ture articles that present the central
role of occupation in the resettle-
ment and social integration process
of immigrants and refugees. They
illustrate how the sociocultural and
sociopolitical aspects of the new
context both enable and constrain
continued participation in tradi-
tional and new ways. The impact of
occupational discontinuity on iden-
tity preservation and reconstruction,
and the well-being of individuals
and families emerge across multiple
studies. This exemplifies the uni-
versality of occupation as a health
determinant and the need to parti-
cipate in occupations as a basic drive
in all persons regardless of their
circumstances.
The issue begins with a conceptual
paper by a group of international
and interdisciplinary scholars who
critically examine the prevalent con-
cept of ‘aging in place’, a mainstay in
addressing place in the successful
aging process. Johansson and collea-
gues argue that research on migra-
tion in aging pre-supposes the
problematic nature of discontinuity
in place, and does not account for
individual agency in place negotia-
tion and systemic influences that
may help or hinder the process of
place making. The authors highlight
the insufficiency of aging in place as
a conceptual lens, and make a case
for a ‘‘framework that acknowledges
aspects of agency and capability in
the place making process’’ to under-
stand how place is experienced and
negotiated through occupations, not
only by aging immigrants but also
across the lifespan of all individuals.
Immigrants bring with them notions
of place and ‘‘home,’’ in the form of
memories of familiar occupational
and contextual elements acquired
through daily life experiences in
their country of origin. Memories
of home are both explicit and im-
plicit. For instance, the smell of
cardamom and saffron evoke mem-
ories of my childhood and festivities
in India, a time when desserts and
other delicacies are made. Although
I have made my home in North
America for over 30 years, I feel
nostalgic. These sentiments are cap-
tured in Bailliard’s ethnographic
study with the migrant Latino com-
munity in the US, which documents
how sensory issues influence and
impact their occupational experi-
ences. When immigrants are unable
to replicate the multisensory quali-
ties of pre-immigration occupations,
the meaning of their occupational
experiences is altered and their
well-being is compromised. As Bail-
liard suggests, occupational science
would benefit from additional focus
on the ‘‘pre-cognitive or uncon-
scious elements of occupation and
their impact on the lived experience
of occupation.’’
More overt consequences of changed
occupational contexts are repor-
ted by Mpofu and Hocking, who
j Jyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L,
Associate Professor, Doctor of
Physical Therapy Program &
Department of Occupational
Science and Occupational
Therapy, Henrietta Schmoll
School of Health, St.
Catherine University,
Minneapolis, USA
Jyothi Gupta
j Correspondence to:
– 2013 The Journal of
Occupational Science
Incorporated
Journal of Occupational Science,
2013
Vol. 20, No. 2, 105�106,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
14427591.2013.792316
JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE, Vol . 20 , No. 2 , 2013 105
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explored the challenges faced by immigrant
health professionals attempting entry to profes-
sional practice in New Zealand. Using occupa-
tional deprivation and occupational apartheid
lenses, the authors identify the occupational
constraints, emotional toll, and adaptive strate-
gies these professionals employ to navigate the
systems associated with employment. Their aim
in documenting these challenges is to influence
policy. Further challenges associated with immi-
gration are described by Torp, Berggren and
Erlandsson. They studied the centrality of food-
related occupations for Somali women immi-
grants to Sweden, as they endeavor to preserve
and transmit a sense of cultural belonging
through traditional ways of doing. Routines and
the content of the daily meals, experiences related
to cooking and shopping for groceries, social
dimensions of food-related occupations, and
identity and roles were all altered as the women
took on paid employment outside of their home.
The latter limited their time for cooking but food-
related occupations remained important ‘‘for the
creation of identity and the maintenance of the
family.’’
Music-making was the occupational vehicle in
cross-cultural adjustment in Adrian’s ethnogra-
phy, which explored the intersectionality of
music, religion and culture in the lives of first-
or second generation refugees and immigrants in
20 different Lutheran congregations in the United
States. This study demonstrates, yet again, the
strategic use of occupation by immigrants to
integrate and create a sense of place and belong-
ing. In their contemporary postcolonial context,
music was ‘‘a cultural occupation capable of
encompassing their emergent, multi-faceted iden-
tity’’ and, in doing so, facilitated social integration.
The influence of social network patterns on
participation in everyday occupations in new
socio-cultural contexts is the fundamental
premise of Smith’s article. It documents the
historically complex immigration experience of
Somali Bantu, who moved from Somalia, via
Kenyan refugee camps, to the United States.
With limited financial and familial resources, not
only were the Somali Bantu challenged during
and after their migration but the local resettle-
ment agencies also encountered significant chal-
lenges. Smith examines how, like occupations,
some aspects of the immigrants’ social capital
stayed intact while others were disrupted. The
‘‘old ways’’ are relied on heavily to share
information of the broader context and systems,
but are not transferable to the broader social
context. Complimenting that study, Lencucha,
Davis and Polatajko describe how immigrant
children’s occupational development and choices
are influenced by the dual-cultured context of
family and the greater community. The authors
identify the critical role of community and
family in helping children integrate old and
new occupations, and how they use occupation
as the vehicle for exploring possibilities in the
new context.
Finally, the value of an occupational perspective
in facilitating successful integration is the focus of
Suleman and Whiteford’s article, which illustrates
an ‘‘innovation in resettlement practice’’ at a
refugee resettlement service in Australia. They
describe an occupation-based life skills program
that addresses the issues of occupation, occupa-
tional deprivation, and occupational adaptation
to help new immigrants in reconstructing mean-
ing and identity in new contexts.
JYOTHI GUPTA
106 JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE, Vol . 20 , No. 2 , 2013
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