The Philippine Government has implemented community quarantine throughout the country to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that has since profoundly affected the lives, health, and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. This has also created an impact on the practice of occupational therapy in the country as the pandemic presents occupational disruptions in the new normal. This paper summarizes the current conditions of the practice of occupational therapy in times of the unprecedented disaster highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis and the situation of practitioners and recipients of service across the regions of the country. Findings conclude that there are: (1) emerging delivery service patterns, (2) consequences of COVID-19 to therapists, and (3) insights moving forward.
Philippines

Five key policy recommendations were generated from the presentations and discussions in the Global Assembly on Everyday Life, Gender, and Sexuality. The rich source of information supporting the recommendations was the exploration of effective methods of promoting social change through education and research from networks and partnerships. The movement created by collective and participatory approaches in policy development counters the limitations of some societies where gender and sexuality are taboo. Enabling laws is essential, but the implementing guidelines should consider the real-world experience and realize that adequate infrastructure, processes, and resources are necessary. Education of the people on gender and sexuality must start early in life to plant a seed to develop values that uphold respect for human rights and civic responsibility.
Gender Identity ; Sexuality

Occupational therapists are known to be holistic practitioners who facilitate occupational performance and promote occupational justice. However, limited literature explores the role of the profession for members of the society who identify themselves as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT). This paper analyzes a panel discussion at an international event hosted by a university in the Philippines regarding gender and sexuality. This short report aims to identify the roles of occupational therapists among the LGBT community through the lens of professionals. Upon thematic analysis of the transcription of the discussion, five roles of occupational therapists were identified. These are (1) navigators on the complexity of gender and sexuality, (2) researchers on evidenced-based and practical practices toward the LGBT community, (3) enablers of gender expression among the LGBT community, (4) allies of the LGBT community, and (5) advocates of inclusion in all spaces. It provides actionable approaches for occupational therapists to facilitate gender-affirming healthcare for the LGBT community. Moreover, these findings hold the potential to influence forthcoming policies and educational initiatives for both occupational therapists and allied professionals.
Role ; Occupational Therapy

It is undeniable that technology has become part of modern society that extends to children's grasp. However, the amount of screen time exposure in children and its effects are increasingly becoming a significant concern for families, educators, and child-related health professionals, such as occupational therapists. This study aims to help child-related health professionals understand the factors contributing to screen time and describe children's screen time levels to enable proper assessment and intervention planning. The Screen Time Ecological Model (STEM) follows the SocioEcological Model in describing influencing factors to screen time behavior, the Ecology of Human Performance in conceptualizing intervention approaches, and the Developmental Frame of Reference in describing the age-appropriate screen time recommendation children based on the American Academy of Pediatrics Media Use Guidelines for Families. The optimal goal of STEM is to promote the just-right screen time use within the pediatric population.
Occupational Therapy ; Child

Goal setting leads to improved clinical outcomes, a more client-centered approach, enhanced motivation and psychological adaptation, and enhanced collaboration between client and clinician. However, goal setting remains problematic for both clients and clinicians. The purpose of this conceptual framework is to provide elements to consider when facilitating a collaborative goal-setting as supported by several theoretical concepts. Using the Goal-Setting Theory, Person-Environment-Occupational-Performance Model, Dekker’s tool in setting meaningful goals in rehabilitation, and Canadian Model of Client-Centered Enablement, the authors have identified eleven (11) essential elements, which are the following: external factors, global meaning, collaborate, coordinate, consult, design, clarity, challenge, self-efficacy, commitment, and overall occupation-centered goal. By considering the various elements presented, occupational therapists can avoid having unrealistic expectations from clients during the process of goal setting.
Occupational Therapy

Background: The substance addiction and rehabilitation situation in the Philippines is a complex health and social crisis that has plagued individuals, groups, and communities in the past decades. While pluralistic and critical approaches to address the drug demand reduction issue are available, hegemonic practices continue to eclipse evidenceinformed approaches underpinned by resiliency and occupational justice perspectives. Methodology: This case study utilized a qualitative and interpretive approach to describe the practice processes of localized community-based drug rehabilitation programs in selected Filipino communities and to propose concrete practice processes to improve the development and implementation of the local community-based drug rehabilitation. Two independent focus group discussions were conducted. Participants were health care professionals, community workers, and citizens who have an affinity to the substance addiction rehabilitation setting. Framed by the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework, specifically the practice process “engage collaboratively with partners,” qualitative data extracted from the focus group discussions were thematically analyzed. Results: Three themes emerged: (1) Changing perspective: starting from the community; (2) Better together: collaboration and coordination in substance addiction and rehabilitation; and (3) “Juan for All, All for Juan”: contextualized strategies in substance addiction and rehabilitation. The findings in the case study reaffirm the value of shifting from an individualistic (symptom-eradication) to populational (social and systemic interventions) perspectives in developing community-based drug rehabilitation programs. Conclusion To reify occupational justice and resiliency approaches, proposed strategies include understanding drug use from critical and occupational perspectives, enacting social modeling and mentorship, promoting inter-agency and inter-professional collaborative practices, and infusing culturally appropriate strategies in the development and implementation of local community-based drug rehabilitation programs.
Occupational Therapy

Background: The Philippines was renowned for its reputation as one of the leading countries in the world, holding notable contributions for supplying the global laborers including occupational therapists alongside other healthcare professionals. The importance of occupational therapists in the healthcare industry was progressively being acknowledged, as they offer rehabilitative care to Filipinos in need within the country. With the continual advancement of knowledge, occupational therapists were fast becoming in-demand professionals locally. However, there appeared to be a dearth of practicing registered occupational therapists in the Philippines, owing to their inclination towards overseas employment as seen by their migration to affluent countries driven by push factors, which are unfavorable circumstances in the place of origin that reinforce migration, and pull factors, which are things that attract the migrant to move to the destination country. Objectives: This study explored the factors influencing the Filipino occupational therapists towards selecting a working environment, prevailing factors that contributed to the decision of Filipino occupational therapists to work overseas, and significant differences between the working conditions domestically and internationally. Methods: The study utilized a qualitative descriptive study to conduct a comprehensive exploration, studying the subtleties and complex nature of Filipino occupational therapists' migration. Researchers conducted semi-structured online interviews with 10 participants currently working as occupational therapists abroad across four countries including Australia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and United States of America. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data, resulting in the identification of seven themes that described the factors on why Filipino occupational therapists went beyond the borders. Results: There are seven themes that describe factors why occupational therapists work abroad. These factors include (a) Labor Provisions, (b) Financial Motivations, (c) Organizational Camaraderie, (d) Presence of Career Progression, (e) Vast Resource Modalities, (f) Individualized Gains, and (g) Political Apathy. Conclusion The study stipulated the parameters aimed at improving occupational therapy working conditions and encouraging proactive initiatives to alleviate the shortage and reverse the brain drain among occupational therapists in the Philippines’ healthcare system.
health workforce

This paper presents the development of a Time-limited Occupational Therapy (OT) Model designed to address the significant challenge of organizing the OT process within the constraints of a time-limited protocol while maintaining a client-centered approach and promoting systematic interdisciplinary care. Rooted in the authors’ clinical experiences and supported by existing literature, this challenge is compounded by multifactorial and contextual barriers within the Philippine healthcare system, including financial and resource limitations, institutional policies, and the uneven distribution of occupational therapists. Integrating the Dose-Effect (DE) and Good-Enough Level (GEL) models, this framework balances efficient treatment delivery with flexibility to meet client-specific goals. The DE Model emphasizes early improvement, while the GEL Model allows therapy to adapt dynamically to client progress. Key safeguards, such as Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) and PostIntervention Review and Feedback based on the 5 A’s Model (Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist, Arrange), enable precise tracking of incremental progress and foster self-management through actionable feedback and goal-setting. The model comprises three main phases: evaluation, intervention, and re-evaluation, each structured by standardized measures, collaborative goal setting, and personalized intervention strategies. Interdisciplinary collaboration, informed by frameworks like the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4), further enhances its adaptability across diverse clinical contexts. Demonstrating its practical application, a sample case of an 80-year-old inpatient highlights effective outcome measures and transition planning. While preliminary, this model provides a structured yet adaptable framework for delivering high-quality, outcome-driven care despite systemic constraints. Future research should prioritize empirical validation to refine the model and evaluate its long-term effectiveness in addressing the complexities of therapy delivery under resource-constrained conditions.

BACKGROUND

LGBTQ+ populations worldwide bear a disproportionate burden of health disparities aggravated by stigma and discrimination in healthcare. This struggle is worsened in the Philippines due to systemic barriers, outdated medical curricula, and the pervasive stigma in society, making it harder for LGBTQ+ individuals to access healthcare.

A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach using the photovoice method was used to describe and co-construct perspectives from LGBTQ+ individuals related to healthcare access in the Philippine healthcare system. The LGBTQ+ participants who resided in Metro Manila were asked to capture photographs representing their healthcare experiences. Focused group discussions (FGD) were then utilized as a platform for collective discussions and interpretations of these photos, enabling the participants to voice their stories and views about healthcare access.

The results are represented in seven photographs, symbolizing seven key themes that are illustrative of the importance of narrating LGBTQ+ stories in healthcare, solidarity among the community for better access, the urgent need for a call to make healthcare spaces inclusive, navigation through intersecting identities, interaction between healthcare professionals and LGBTQ+ individuals, the call for systemic change to be fitted to the needs of LGBTQ+ people, and diverse healthcare challenges among transgender people.

The findings point to the strong call for systemic reforms in the Philippine healthcare system to better support the needs of LGBTQ+ people. This study highly recommends that lived experiences should be included in health practices and policies as a basis for inclusivity and equity.

Background: Occupational justice is realized when individuals can participate in meaningful activities regardless of their status in society without barriers. However, Filipinos, who identify themselves as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT+), continue to encounter prejudice in daily life. Their participation in daily activities during the pandemic is an important facet to be understood. Hence, this study aimed to describe the experiences of working gay men during the pandemic through from an occupational justice perspective. Methodology: Purposive sampling was utilized in gathering individuals from an LGBT+ organization in a city within Batangas Province to attend a focus group discussion and a series of one-on-one in-depth interviews. The Occupational Justice Health Questionnaire (OJHQ) was used to guide the discussion. Deductive thematic analysis was employed to arrive at different themes. Results: The experiences of the eight participants composed of working gay men show that the pandemic has brought injustices into the participants' daily lives. Gay men experienced varying degrees of occupational imbalance, deprivation, alienation, and apartheid such that they expressed frustration due to constraints in community cultural life, local events, and involvement in outdoor physical participation where they could showcase their individuality and talents. Conclusion The study contributes to the lack of inclusion and discourse on the experiences of the LGBT+ community that are unique and needs additional exploration to address specific needs. Despite being tagged as one of the most gay-friendly countries in Asia, there are still forms of discrimination and prejudice that still exist. Hence, the study was able to shed light on this through an occupational justice perspective, evoking justice-oriented practice among all stakeholders.
COVID-19 ; Occupations