Ocupação e atividade: tendências e tensões conceituais na literatura anglófona da terapia ocupacional e da ciência ocupacional

The epistemological rigor of occupational therapy has been questioned since its emergence, nearly a century ago. Occupational science, a new discipline that was created by occupational therapists in North America and evolved mainly in the Anglo-Saxon world in the past 30 years, has produced extensive discussion about the theoretical and technical underpinnings of the occupation based interventions, besides stimulating the international debate on the socio-political dimensions of the various existing models. Designed as a reflective essay, this article aims to review the concepts of occupation and activity as they are presented in contemporary Anglophone literature of occupational therapy and occupational science. Selected scientific papers and official documents are discussed. After a brief introduction that describes the theoretical framework that guides the discussion, a summary of these concepts is presented. The analysis takes into account the historical development of the two areas and also seeks to highlight opportunities for the future production of knowledge, both in occupational therapy and occupational science