چکیده:
Occupational therapy in Iran is relatively young - established in 1971 - with a fluctuated development due to the Iranian revolution in 1979, and eight years war from 1981 to 1989. Today, there are ten Bachelor programs across the country approved by World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). Furthermore, occupational therapists have opportunities for further postgraduate training in both Master and PhD levels. Fast growing of occupational therapy due to social demands necessitated therapists to develop a professional organization. Therefore, Iranian Occupational Therapy Association (IROTA) was formally established in 1994. This paper aims to present an overview about occupational therapy in Iran. Iranian context including population, health status and culture is also reviewed. This follows with explanation about occupational therapy background, education and development. Finally, conception, development, purposes, and achievements of Iranian Occupational Therapy Association present situation and future perspectives of occupational therapy are discussed.
خلاصه ماشینی:
At the same time, Iranian Rehabilitation Journal dedicated this issue to occupational therapy research in Iran.
Therefore, a good opportunity come to place to develop a second version of the history of occupational therapy in Iran.
Iranian Context Iran is a big country (1648915 Km2) with a long history of more than 4000 years civilization situated in northern side of Persian Gulf, included a population of about 80 millions that 23.
Following Iranian revolution in 1979, overseas lecturers left Iran and this caused a gap in training occupational therapists.
It took several years to be able to restart training OT at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences by Rahbar and a group of Iranian occupational therapists in 1982.
Subsequently, bachelor program in occupational therapy was developed in two further universities including Shaheed Beheshti Medical University (SBMU) founded by Eghlidi in 1987, and the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWRS) established by Rassafiani in 1993.
Therefore, a group of pioneer occupational therapists came together in 1990 to found Iranian Occupational Therapy Association (IROTA).
Future Perspective of Occupational Therapy Although OT in Iran has been developed, it is crucial to attend to some important aspects.
These demonstrate necessity of long term research in various aspects of occupational therapy to develop Iranian model, framework and practice.
Conclusion Occupational therapy in Iran has been developed qualitatively and quantitatively in different areas such as education, practice and its services.
A review of occupational therapy in Iran: Iranian Rehabilitation Journal; 2004;2(2):5-8.