World first centre targets human occupation

Sep 13, 2005

The University of Wollongong’s Shoalhaven Campus at Nowra has launched the world’s first occupational science education and research centre.

Occupational science is a new academic discipline that generates knowledge about human occupation and humans as occupational beings. In occupational science, ‘occupation’ refers to all the things that people do in their everyday life – not just paid employment.

The Director of the Australasian Occupational Science Centre (AOSC), Dr Alison Wicks, said that AOSC was based on the premise that people needed to participate in “purposeful and meaningful occupation” for their health and well being.

AOSC is a community education and research centre within the University of Wollongong’s Centre for Health Services Development. Its overall research will focus on the four life stages of childhood, adolescence, adulthood and older adulthood. Findings from AOSC research will form the basis for recommendations to community agencies, business and the government. In November 2004, AOSC Pty Ltd was formed by some prominent Shoalhaven business people to support the establishment of the new centre.

And this month will see the start of the first AOSC funded project called, “Do it Now”. It is being jointly funded by the Department of Transport and Regional Services through its Regional Partnership scheme, the Shoalhaven City Council and AOSC Pty Ltd.

The project consists of a community education program and a research program. The community education program is available at no cost to Shoalhaven residents aged 55 or over. The program’s aim is to inform Shoalhaven residents about the need to participate in meaningful occupation for health and well being. It is specifically designed for those planning to retire from work or who have recently retired.

Day and evening programs will be held in Nowra, the Bay and Basin, Callala Bay, Sussex Inlet and Ulladulla. Programs begin this month and the last program will run in April 2006.

As part of a research program, information about the personal and community-based barriers to older people’s participation in meaningful occupation will be gathered during the program. The report will be relevant to the Shoalhaven City Council, the Illawarra Retirement Trust, the Shoalhaven Division of General Practice and the South Eastern and Illawarra Area Health Service. The recommendations in the report will be significant for developing a cohesive community policy for older Shoalhaven residents.

The centre’s future plans include convening the inaugural International Occupational Science Symposium in July 2006.

Dr Wicks said that overall the centre’s participants will be studying creative occupations, physical occupations, life long learning and technology and communication as their four broad categories of occupation. She has already arranged for a cross cultural study on retirement with Associate Professor Hans Jonsson from the Karolinksa Institute in Stockholm.

For further information contact Dr Alison Wicks on (02) 4448 0841 or 0424 731 158 (m)

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128