Edinburgh Napier University

  Background.
Occupational therapy’s conceptual tools need to be considered from Global South perspectives to make them more culturally relevant and safe.
Purpose.
This paper uses an empirical example, and the author’s professional and academic experiences, to analyze the strengths, limitations, and potential refinement of the Critical Thinking Tool (CTT) and the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework (POJF).
Key Issues.
The paper describes processes of critical reflexivity and intercultural translation to compare concepts used in the CTT and POJF with the findings of a study about olive growing in Palestine to consider the applicability of these tools in Global South settings. The CTT should be amended to address collective occupations, and global and historical contexts, and the POJF should embed intercultural translations and solidarity into its philosophy and processes.
Implications.
These refinements would enhance the cultural safety of the CTT and the POJF. Tools in occupational therapy will benefit from more evidence to enhance their global utility in an increasingly interconnected world, in which occupational therapists share the duty to tackle social and occupational injustices.