scholarly journals Occupational therapy: The key to unlocking locked-up occupations during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sureshkumar Kamalakannan ◽  
Stuti Chakraborty

Occupations refer to the everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life. It is not always limited to just paid employment. Occupations of the global population have been adversely affected in one way or the other because of this COVID-19 pandemic. Four different key sects of occupations were majorly affected. These are the occupations of those who are or were COVID-positive, occupations of healthy individuals affected by COVID-19/lockdown, occupations of the population highly susceptible and vulnerable of contracting COVID-19 and occupations having a direct impact on global market, supply chain or economy. These occupations were locked up due to the pandemic lockdown. Occupational therapists can scientifically analyse occupations and help formulate exit strategies for the lockdown. They are experts who understand and study the different ways of measuring participation in occupation to develop innovative strategies and therapeutic interventions to facilitate individuals’ engagement in occupations. They can unravel the pragmatic strategies for preventing transmission (physical distancing, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment usage and decontamination) despite engaging in occupations safely and effectively. Nourishing this niche and essential science is pertinent, not just in this pandemic context but also against a backdrop of health and social care research, policy, practice and education for the future.

2020 ◽  
pp. 030802262097394
Author(s):  
Deborah Bullen ◽  
Channine Clarke

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 302-309
Author(s):  
Stephanie Best

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.


2001 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Rebeiro

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


2021 ◽  

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Groups most severely affected by COVID-19 have tended to be those marginalised before the pandemic and are now being largely ignored in developing responses to it. This two-volume set of Rapid Responses explores the urgent need to put co-production and participatory approaches at the heart of responses to the pandemic and demonstrates how policymakers, health and social care practitioners, patients, service users, carers and public contributors can make this happen. The second volume focuses on methods and means of co-producing during a pandemic. It explores a variety of case studies from across the global North and South and addresses the practical considerations of co-producing knowledge both now - at a distance - and in the future when the pandemic is over.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S235-S236
Author(s):  
David Baldwin ◽  
Aimee O'Neill ◽  
Julia Sinclair ◽  
Gemma Simons

AimsTo achieve a consensus Core Outcome Set for measuring mental wellbeing in doctors.Hypothesis: A minimum set of valid, reliable and practical wellbeing measures is needed for doctors.BackgroundThe importance of doctors’ mental wellbeing to everyone using Health Care is highlighted by the levels of burnout reported in doctors around the world. In 2019 a number of UK policy documents made recommendations for the wellbeing of doctors, but how those wellbeing interventions are evaluated needs to be defined. Core Outcome Sets are increasingly being used in medicine to prevent waste in research, by recommending the inclusion of a minimum set of valid, reliable and practical measures. An operational definition and Core Outcome Set for wellbeing in doctors is needed to meaningfully progress the work in this field.MethodThe Centre for Workforce Wellbeing (C4WW), a collaboration between the University of Southampton and Health Education England, was created to support research into the nature, assessment and enhancement of wellbeing in physicians. A Systematic Review of wellbeing measures used in doctors and the robustness of those measures, along with surveys of 250 UK doctors of all grades and specialities and patient and public involvement is informing what a core outcome set could be. A Delphi Study among 37 UK experts has been initiated to establish the consensus Core Outcome Set.ResultPublication of research into doctors’ wellbeing is growing internationally. In the UK alone data are being captured by multiple national organisations including: the Care Quality Commission, General Medical Council, British Medical Association and the Royal Colleges. Health and Social Care Organisations are, therefore, keen to “do something” and are spending money on wellbeing interventions with little, or no, evidence base and a lack of appropriate, comparable evaluation. A Core Outcome Set for measuring wellbeing in doctors is ethically required to reduce waste, to replace burnout measures and to refine wellbeing interventions.ConclusionWellbeing measures that actually measure wellbeing, and not burnout, which are validated, reliable and practical, are needed to inform local organisational, national government and international research policy. An absence of burnout does not equate to wellbeing. The focus of measurement needs to shift to capture in what contexts we thrive, not just survive. If everyone used the same Core Outcome Set to measure mental wellbeing, direct comparisons could be made, and money invested, in creating infrastructure, processes and cultures that really work.Health Education England funded PhD.


Dementia ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 147130122092723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Chaudhury ◽  
Tanveer Mahal ◽  
Kishore Seetharaman ◽  
Haakon B. Nygaard

Availability of community-based destinations and amenities can facilitate healthy aging by supporting older adults’ functional abilities and enabling their participation in society, especially for those experiencing declining cognitive abilities. This study used a survey tool called participation in ACTivities and places OUTside the Home for older adults, specifically designed to examine the out-of-home participation of older adults living with or without dementia, to collect data on specific places and activities that individuals participate in over time. Thirty cognitively intact participants and 29 participants living with dementia were recruited. The past/present net participation figures indicate that all destinations are likely to be abandoned by persons with dementia over time. The findings indicate that both groups of participants were most likely to abandon recreation and physical activity places, although a higher number of persons with dementia reported that they would likely abandon these places in the future than the cognitively intact participants. Participants with dementia indicated multiple en route and at destination challenges, as well as their coping strategies. This study adds to our understanding of the out-of-home places visited by persons living with and without dementia and the patterns of changes in those visits over time. The findings are useful for health and social care professionals, including occupational therapists, social workers, as well as family caregivers, in recognizing the relative importance of certain out-of-home places and activities over others and the challenges faced by persons with dementia in getting to those places. This knowledge can inform programme and service providers to develop targeted interventions to support continued engagement by older adults with dementia and cognitively intact older adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 196-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feryad A Hussain ◽  
Lindsay Royan

Today, there are an ‘increasing number of radicalised ‘returnees’ coming home after being involved in fighting abroad. While the issue of radicalisation has existed for a number of decades, the UK faces a growing problem of managing people who have been exposed to radical beliefs. The literature has identified a number of common, contributory factors that are rooted in psychosocial issues. To this effect, health and social care services are being asked to offer therapeutic interventions and support, while working together with legal teams and police departments in order to develop a suitable preventative/management strategy. This article has been borne out of a specific project of one such team. It considers the professional challenges that teams face in applying existing models of service delivery to a new and emerging area of healthcare. An alternative working model is suggested for the development of future services.


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