Diversional occupational therapy in World War I: a need for purpose in occupations.

The American journal ofOccupational Therapy T he use of occupational therapy flourished during World War I (WWI). The country was faced with the "reconstruction" of hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers. The need to get these men out of the hospital wards and back into society as soon as possible opened the door for the use of occupations in the treatment of wounded soldiers (Smith, 1918). WWl fostered the growth of diversional occupational therapy and created a shift in the types of diversional occupations being used. By the end of the war, instead of relying solely on arts-and-crafts occupations as diversions, an effort was being made to include vocationally oriented activities. Causes of this shift from diversional occupations to vocationally oriented occupations were related to governmental and economic concerns for the future of both the nation and the WWl soldiers. The use of purposeful occupations is still evident in the modern day clinic during early stages of rehabilitation. This article explores the use of diversional occupational therapy in treatment ofWWl wounded soldiers.