Exploration of pediatric manual wheelchair confidence among children, parents, and occupational therapists: a qualitative study

Introduction In response to growing demands on health and social care services there is an emphasis on communities addressing the needs of local populations to improve lives and reduce inequalities. Occupational therapists are responding to these demands by expanding their scope of practice into innovative settings, such as working with refugees, the homeless and residents of nursing homes, and within sport and leisure environments. The benefits of sport are widely acknowledged, and this paper argues that occupational therapists could play a pivotal role in enabling people to participate. Method This qualitative study drew on a phenomenological approach and used interviews and thematic analysis to explore five occupational therapists’ experiences of enabling people to participate in sport. Findings Findings revealed that participants demonstrated the uniqueness of occupational therapy when enabling people to participate in sport and practised according to their professional philosophy. There were opportunities to reach wider communities and promote the value of occupational therapy by collaborating with organisations, but there were also challenges when working outside of traditional settings. Conclusion The study emphasises the unique skills occupational therapists can bring to this setting. It highlights opportunities to expand their practice, to forge new partnerships in sports and leisure environments, and to address the national inactivity crisis.

Download Full-text

Facilitating integrated delivery of services across organisational boundaries: Essential enablers to integration

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/0308022616688019 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 80 (5) ◽

pp. 302-309

Author(s):

Stephanie Best

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Service Provision ◽

Social Care ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Leadership Communication ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Health And Social Care ◽

Integration Of Services ◽

Integrated Delivery

Introduction Integrating services is a key tenet to developing services across the United Kingdom. While many aspects of integration have been explored, how to facilitate integration of services remains unclear. Method An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken in 2015 to explore occupational therapists’ perceptions on integrating service provision across health and social care organisational boundaries. The views of practitioners who had experienced integration were sought on a range of aspects of integrating services. This paper focuses on the facilitators for delivering integration and the essential enablers are identified. Findings Numerous factors were noted to facilitate integration and three essential enablers were highlighted. Leadership, communication and joint education were recognised as playing a central role in integrating services across organisational boundaries; without these three essential enablers, integration is liable to fail. Conclusion Integration is a process rather than an event; continued emphasis will be required on leadership, communication and joint education to progress integration achievements made to date.

Download Full-text

Enabling Occupation: The Importance of an Affirming Environment

Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/000841740106800204 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 80-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Karen L. Rebeiro

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Social Environment ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Occupational Engagement ◽

Occupational Performance ◽

The Social ◽

The Individual ◽

Over Time

Occupational therapists have become increasingly concerned with factors beyond the individual which impact occupational performance. Several recent models propose that the environment is a significant influence on occupational performance and upon its meaningfulness. An in-depth, qualitative study was conducted which explored the meaning of occupational engagement for eight women with mental illness (Rebeiro & Cook, 1999). This study yielded several important insights about the environment, which have recently been replicated by Legault and Rebeiro (2001) and Rebeiro, Day, Semeniuk, O'Brien, and Wilson (In Press). Participants suggested that environments that provide opportunity, and not prescription are more conducive to fostering occupational performance. Participants further suggested that an environment that provides Affirmation of the individual as a person of worth, a place to belong, and a place to be supported, enables occupational performance over time. A series of research studies indicated that the social environment is an important consideration in planning therapeutic interventions which aim to enable occupation. Implications for occupational therapy practice, education and research are offered

Download Full-text

A Qualitative Study to Explore Ways to Observe Results of Engaging Activities in Clients with Dementia

Occupational Therapy International ◽

10.1155/2017/7513875 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Masahiro Ogawa ◽

Seiji Nishida ◽

Haruna Shirai

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Clinical Practice ◽

Social Interaction ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Emotional Expression ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Verbal Expression ◽

Future Studies ◽

Severity Of Dementia ◽

Depth Interviews

Background. Many occupational therapists face the challenge of helping clients with dementia to select and perform meaningful occupations, which may be difficult due to cognitive impairment. Understanding tacit knowledge of well-experienced occupational therapists could positively affect occupational therapy practice for clients with dementia. Objectives of Study. To explore the observations of experienced occupational therapists when evaluating the effects of activities in clients with dementia. Methods. Ten occupational therapists with over 10 years of clinical experience participated in this qualitative study. In-depth interviews were conducted to ask the question, “What do you observe in clients with dementia when you assess the effectiveness of activities among these clients?” Findings. From 47 cases, we found five major themes and 18 subthemes. Main themes were “engaging activity,” “emotional expression during activity,” “verbal expression during activity,” “social interaction through activity,” and “something obtained as outcome of activity.” Relevance to Clinical Practice. The 18 subthemes could be used as viewpoints to observe engagements of activity in clients with dementia. Limitations and Recommendations for Further Research. Future studies could examine which viewpoints were utilized for each type of activity and/or severity of dementia as this was not investigated in the current study.

Download Full-text

Rehabilitation Therapists’ Clinical Questions in the Context of Evidence-Based Patient Care: An Exploratory Study

Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS / Actes du congrès annuel de l'ACSI ◽

10.29173/cais774 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Lorie Kloda ◽

Joan Bartlett

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Patient Care ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Stroke Care ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

Accident Vasculaire Cérébral ◽

Clinical Questions ◽

Etude Qualitative

In this qualitative study, rehabilitation therapists (occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech-language pathologists) working in stroke care will be asked about their clinical questions. The goals of the study are: to identify common characteristics of questions, to develop a typology of questions, and to uncover reasons why certain questions are pursued.Pour cette étude qualitative, des thérapeutes en réadaptation (ergothérapeutes, physiothérapeutes et orthophonistes) œuvrant auprès de patients ayant subi un accident vasculaire cérébral sont interrogés à propos de leurs questions cliniques. Cette étude vise à déterminer les caractéristiques communes des questions, à dresser une typologie des questions et à découvrir les raisons pour lesquelles certaines questions adressées.

Download Full-text

The meaning of rehabilitation: a qualitative study exploring perspectives of occupational therapists and physiotherapists working with older people in acute care

Disability and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1080/09638288.2019.1697762 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Gemma Bradley ◽

Katherine Baker ◽

Catherine Bailey

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Older People ◽

Acute Care ◽

Occupational Therapists

Download Full-text

Who should have a pre-discharge home assessment visit after a stroke? A qualitative study of occupational therapists' views

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.4276/030802214x14071472109752 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 77 (8) ◽

pp. 384-391 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Phillip Whitehead ◽

Karen Fellows ◽

Nikola Sprigg ◽

Marion Walker ◽

Avril Drummond

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Discharge Home ◽

Assessment Visit

Download Full-text

Clinical Reasoning in Occupational Therapy: Idiosyncrasies in Content and Process

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/030802269605900807 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 59 (8) ◽

pp. 372-376 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Anne Elizabeth Roberts

Keyword(s):

Pattern Recognition ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Occupational Therapy ◽

Clinical Reasoning ◽

Deductive Reasoning ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Medical Problem ◽

Written Text ◽

Component Processes

This article describes part of a research project that aims to examine the content and process of occupational therapists' reasoning. Thirty-eight experienced occupational therapists participated. This qualitative study gathered written text from the therapists, representing their thinking when presented with facsimiles of practice situations. Analysis of both the content of the reasoning and the component processes of the reasoning took place. The processes observed were similar to those observed in studies of medical problem solving. Some therapists demonstrated a rapid formulation of the problem, indicating the use of pattern recognition. There was also an element of hypothetico-deductive reasoning, as has been observed in medicine and physiotherapy. This article explores these findings, relating them to the research of other theorists in the field of reasoning and concluding with a discussion of some apparent idiosyncrasies in the participants' reasoning.

Download Full-text