On this episode, we are joined by Ben Mortenson and Janet Craik, both occupational therapists in Canada who have done extensive work on sustainability in healthcare. They share with us the pillars of sustainability and how we as therapists can do our part to ensure economic, social and environmental sustainability. 

Guest Bios: Janet Craik holds a Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy from Queen's University and a Master's degree in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Toronto. Her involvement as an occupational therapist includes many years as a front-line practitioner, manager, author, educator, and former Executive Director for the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. She is deeply interested in exploring how to improve health systems in Canada to be more sustainable. As an instructor at the University of Toronto, she is involved with an interprofessional education elective on climate change and teaches an elective on sustainable health in occupational therapy to ensure students have knowledge and resources needed to identify climate change-related risks and take equitable, evidence-based action to promote health, well-being, and occupational participation. In addition to instructing at the University of Toronto, she is the Rehabilitation Lead for CASCADES (www.cascadescanada.ca) and the Executive Director for the International Cognitive Approaches Network (www.icancoop.org).

Ben Mortenson has been an occupational therapist since 1991. He is Professor and Head of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia. He held a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2016-2021).  He is a principal investigator at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Research Program and International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries. He is an experienced mixed-methods researcher with over 200 peer-reviewed publications and he has over $7M in funding as a principal investigator or co-PI and almost $50M as co-investigator. He has had over 300, peer reviewed abstracts accepted at national and international conferences. He has provided research supervision to over 130 trainees. His work is centered on four main populations: assistive technology users, informal and formal caregivers, individuals with spinal cord injury, and residents in long-term care. His research focuses on four overlapping areas: assistive technology, social participation, accessibility and sustainability. He was the 2021 recipient of the Award for Innovative Practice from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy (CAOT). In 2022 he was inducted as a CAOT Fellow.

The views and opinions expressed in the Hands in Motion podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ASHT. Appearance on the podcast does not imply endorsement of any products, services or viewpoints discussed.