Occupational justice and injustice in persons with mental disorders – a scoping review

Abstract: Background: Approximately 20-25 % of people experience mental health disorders globally and, therefore, have a higher chance of meeting occupational injustices in their everyday lives. Occupational injustice includes occupational deprivation, imbalance, alienation, marginalization and apartheid. The purpose of this study was to explore the current knowledge of occupational justice or injustice in persons with mental disorders. Method: Scoping review methodology by Peters et al. (2020) was used for mapping evidence. For inclusion criteria, there was no age restriction. Also, mental disorders or mental illnesses or diagnoses for that had to be stated. The time span for the literature search was between 2006 and 2021. The data was searched from AMED, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Scopus. Hand searching in the Journal of Occupational Science was also conducted, and the citations and reference lists were screened. Results: Seven articles met the criteria and were included for qualitative synthesis, and all were related to working-aged adults. Three main themes were found in relation to (1) engagement in occupations, (2) social relations, and (3) participating in work-life. Conclusion: Occupational injustice was related to environmental barriers, a lack of opportunities for engaging in meaningful activities, developing positive identity and self-esteem and to having a stigma. Participation in work-life was noted to be affecting occupational justice positively. There may also exist knowledge gaps regarding other age groups than persons of working age with mental disorders and from countries with weak health care and insurance systems. Further research about occupational injustice in persons with mental disorders is needed.