Aims and scope
Aim: Journal of Occupational Science is dedicated to advancing knowledge of human occupation, broadly defined as the things people do that have meaning and occupy time and space. Its aim is to bring diverse voices into dialogue, with the ultimate goal of producing plural, well-informed insights that respect and center diverse ways of doing and knowing, generating real world responses to situations of inequality and oppression that restrict access to and benefits of occupation, and supporting responsive occupation-focused actions that promote health, well-being, and equity. In support of the aim to bring diverse voices into conversation, JOS works with authors to publish selected articles in dual languages (English/Portuguese, English/Spanish) and works with the publisher to provide abstracts in multiple languages on the journal website.

Scope: The Journal of Occupational Science publishes articles that build understanding of occupation, which is understood to be a complex biological, cultural, spiritual, temporal, relational, political, and historically situated phenomenon. Humans are viewed as occupational beings, whose occupations shape the local and global environment, culture, society, themselves and others.

Occupation is viewed from multiple perspectives, and inquiries may examine a range of topics including occupation in context, its functions and outcomes, the human capacity for occupation, societal forms of occupation, its performance and meanings, issues of inclusion/exclusion from participation, and occupation’s reciprocal relationship with well-being, health, and ill-health. Studies of occupation at population, community, group, and individual levels are welcome, as are explorations of occupation in relation to lifespan development, adaptation, temporal and spatial patterns, societal structures and barriers, governance mechanisms, resistance, sustainability, and environmental impacts. Humanist, Indigenous, population, transactional, evolutionary, biological, ecological, historical, socio-political, philosophical, critical, and biographical perspectives of occupation will be considered.