Occupational Therapy Australia 28th National Conference and Exhibition "Together Towards Tomorrow", 10-12 July 2019, International Convention Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia: A critical scoping review

Introduction: The recently released new Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (2018) propose four conceptual areas of professional practice. All these conceptual areas highlight the importance of culturally responsive care for Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples) communities. As part of a curriculum review in an Occupational Therapy program in Australia, further exploration of the available literature in the area was required.Aim:To perform a critical scoping review of literature published in the last ten years(2008–2018) in relation to occupational therapy and Indigenous health in Australia.Methods: Five electronic databases (CINAHL, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and OTSeeker) were used with different MESH terms and related keywords. Twelve publications matched the inclusion criteria. Papers addressing multi- or inter-professional issues, editorials, commentaries, book/article reviews and publications before 2008 were discarded. Thematic analysis was used to find common themes emerging from the data.Results:Preliminary findings show four themes regarding the current understanding of indigenous health and occupational therapy in Australia: (1) Being aware & learning about diversity; (2) Assessing and exploring occupations; (3) Providing culturally based services and (4) Finding the gaps. Further analysis will be completed with Aboriginal co-researchers. Final analysis will be available by the time of the Conference.Conclusion/implications for practice:There is a vast potential for occupational therapy development and research in the field. An articulated, culturally sensitive and reflective response in service provision is expected from and by the profession. The limited number of available articles might be restricting the modification of educational curricula and the adoption of the new competencies for occupational therapists in Australia. Several challenges and opportunities are identified for occupational therapy education and service provision.