Using COPM to enhance client-centeredness and occupational focus of occupational therapy for veterans in Ukraine.

Justification: Occupational therapy is a new rehabilitation profession in Ukraine. Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 became a major impetus for its development and occupational therapy was officially established as a separate profession in 2016. The demand for occupational therapy services drastically increased after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since that time only three graduated cohorts from the only WFOT approved occupational therapy program entered the workforce. Due to limited availability of occupational therapists, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine allowed professionals with physical therapy background to provide occupational therapy services as a temporary solution to the dramatic need of civilian as well as veteran population. As a result, there is a concern that occupational therapy services provided are impairment- and movement-focused. Therefore, it is pertinent to investigate to which degree occupational therapy services currently provided in Ukraine are occupation-focused.

PhD projekt om, hvordan brugen af COPM (herunder oversættelse og validering af redskabet) kan medvirke til at styrke grundlæggende ergoterapeutiske kompetencer (aktivitetsbasering og klientcentrering) i den nye ergoterapeutiske profession i Ukraine. Samtidig undersøges brugen af redskabet i forhold til rehabilitering sfa den igangværende krig i landet - herunder brugen i fht soldater (veteraner) og civile.