Occupational Therapy in the Promotion of Health and Well-Being.

A balanced pattern of occupations enhances the health and fulfills the needs of individuals, families, communities, and populations (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2014b; Hocking, 2019; Meyer, 1922). Occupations are personalized "everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families, and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life" (World Federation of Occupational Therapists, 2012, para. 2). The purpose of this statement is to describe occupational therapy's role and contribution in the areas of health promotion and prevention for internal and external audiences. AOTA supports and promotes the involvement of occupational therapy practitioners¹ in the development and delivery of programs and services that promote health, well-being, and social participation of all people.

The centers for medicare & medicaid services diabetes health disparities reduction program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has implemented 3 prevention interventions programs to bring diabetes self-management education to vulnerable populations via Medicare's Quality Improvement Organizations. The programs and the lessons derived from a Federal initiative geared to closing the health disparities gap are described.

Challenges of preparing allied health professionals for interdisciplinary practice in rural areas.

Meeting the health needs of individuals in rural communities involves addressing the challenges of complex multifaceted health problems, limited local health resources and services, isolation, and distance. Interdisciplinary collaboration can create solutions to health care problems that transcend conventional, discipline-specific methods, procedures, and techniques. This paper reports on the four-pronged approach of the Western Maryland Area Health Education Center used to prepare allied health students to be interdisciplinary team members in rural areas. It describes the development of four interdisciplinary instructional team member training venues (in-class instruction, Web-based modules, service-learning programs, and faculty development workshops) that integrate opportunities to develop and practice interdisciplinary health promotion skills in rural communities. Challenges to implementing the model are described, including developing faculty and student training participation, integrating training venues into existing programs at participating institutions, and designing a unified program evaluation.