12. Chronic Conditions, Health, and Well-Being in Global Contexts: Occupational Therapy in Conversation with Critical Medical Anthropology

2019 ◽  
pp. 230-246
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Medical Anthropology ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Critical Medical Anthropology ◽  
Health And Well Being

Introduction to Special Theme Issue Anthropology, Occupational Therapy and Disability Studies: Collaborations and Prospects

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 2-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gelya Frank ◽  
Pamela Block ◽  
Ruth Zemke
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Medical Anthropology ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Applied Anthropology ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Health And Well Being

A profession exists that shares interests with medical anthropology and applied anthropology to promote health and well-being through everyday activities, meaningful routines, and social participation. The profession is occupational therapy. Increasing numbers of anthropologists have professional credentials as occupational therapists, or work with occupational therapists, and collaborate also with disability studies scholars and activists. They share a mission is to define and clear new pathways to health, well-being, and social justice.

scholarly journals Team Focus: Occupational Therapist

2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 94-98
Author(s):  
Susan J. Forwell ◽  
Kathleen M. Zackowski
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Therapy Process ◽  
Functional Difficulties ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Symptomatic Management ◽  
Home Work ◽  
Health And Well Being

Occupational therapists (OTs) have a unique and valued role in the health and functional recovery of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). To maximize the benefit of occupational therapy by both health care professionals who refer patients and the patients who use the services, an understanding of the scope of services that OTs offer is essential. This article describes the breadth of the OT evaluation and intervention specific to the treatment of individuals who have MS. As an overriding goal, the OT assists clients in processing the implications of physical, cognitive, and emotional changes and creatively developing strategies to cope with and, when appropriate, minimize the effects of these changes. The occupational therapy process is described, beginning with evaluation and providing guidelines and resources for appropriate client-centered goal setting. The OT and client then discuss intervention that ensures optimal functional outcome and includes symptomatic management, according to the specific functional difficulties and implications and the particular symptoms of each patient. Through discussion, the OT helps each client achieve health and well-being with remedial and compensatory techniques that enable participation in meaningful activities and roles in the home, work, and community. OT services are essential to the appropriate and optimal delivery of comprehensive care and support to individuals with MS.

Introduction: The Anthropology-Map Merger

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namino Glantz ◽  
Ben McMahan
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Medical Anthropology ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Applied Anthropology ◽  
Participatory Health Research ◽  
Health And Well Being

The potential of merging anthropology and mapping became clear to us (guest editors Namino Glantz & Ben McMahan) as we sought novel means of improving health among the elderly in Mexico. To share our own experiences and hear about others, we organized a session—The medical anthropology-map merger: Harnessing GIS for participatory health research—at the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) Annual Meeting, held in March 2007 in Tampa, Florida. Presenters detailed case studies to explore how mapping strengthened health research by enriching understanding of the dynamics of health and well-being, and by promoting community engagement in research and intervention. At the same meeting, the PA editors agreed to dedicate this issue of Practicing Anthropology to showcasing the innovative directions that anthropology can take by incorporating participatory mapping. Featured authors—nearly all participants in the SfAA session—illuminate and expand upon the themes Mark Nichter mentions above.

Making Choices from the Choices we have: The Contextual-Embeddedness of Occupational Choice

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 400-411
Author(s):  
Karen Whalley Hammell
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Occupational Choice ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Occupational Choices ◽  
Making Choices ◽  
The World ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Health And Well Being

Background. “Choice” is central to occupational therapy’s theoretical tradition, which maintains that individuals can impact their well-being through wisely choosing their occupations. However, the assumption that opportunities to choose are universally available is negated by research evidence. Purpose. To review the ideology of “choice” in occupational therapy theory, and to encourage more critical approaches toward determinants of occupational opportunity and choice. Key Issues. Evidence indicates that within Canada, and throughout the world, opportunities to make occupational choices are inequitably distributed among people of different socioeconomic classes, castes, genders, races, abilities, sexualities, citizenship statuses, and experiences of colonialism. Implications. Because occupation is a determinant of health and well-being, social injustices that create inequitable occupational choices are unfair violations of occupational rights. The occupational therapy profession’s espoused aim of enhancing well-being through occupation demands theories that explicitly recognize the socially structured and inequitable shaping of choice, and consequent impact on people’s occupational rights.

scholarly journals A Library of Analytic Indicators to Evaluate Effective Engagement with Consumer mHealth Apps for Chronic Conditions: Scoping Review (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quynh Pham ◽  
Gary Graham ◽  
Carme Carrion ◽  
Plinio P Morita ◽  
Emily Seto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Variable Effect ◽  
Chronic Health ◽  
Mhealth Apps ◽  
Health And Well Being

BACKGROUND There is mixed evidence to support current ambitions for mobile health (mHealth) apps to improve chronic health and well-being. One proposed explanation for this variable effect is that users do not engage with apps as intended. The application of analytics, defined as the use of data to generate new insights, is an emerging approach to study and interpret engagement with mHealth interventions. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to consolidate how analytic indicators of engagement have previously been applied across clinical and technological contexts, to inform how they might be optimally applied in future evaluations. METHODS We conducted a scoping review to catalog the range of analytic indicators being used in evaluations of consumer mHealth apps for chronic conditions. We categorized studies according to app structure and application of engagement data and calculated descriptive data for each category. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests of independence were applied to calculate differences between coded variables. RESULTS A total of 41 studies met our inclusion criteria. The average mHealth evaluation included for review was a two-group pretest-posttest randomized controlled trial of a hybrid-structured app for mental health self-management, had 103 participants, lasted 5 months, did not provide access to health care provider services, measured 3 analytic indicators of engagement, segmented users based on engagement data, applied engagement data for descriptive analyses, and did not report on attrition. Across the reviewed studies, engagement was measured using the following 7 analytic indicators: the number of measures recorded (76%, 31/41), the frequency of interactions logged (73%, 30/41), the number of features accessed (49%, 20/41), the number of log-ins or sessions logged (46%, 19/41), the number of modules or lessons started or completed (29%, 12/41), time spent engaging with the app (27%, 11/41), and the number or content of pages accessed (17%, 7/41). Engagement with unstructured apps was mostly measured by the number of features accessed (8/10, P=.04), and engagement with hybrid apps was mostly measured by the number of measures recorded (21/24, P=.03). A total of 24 studies presented, described, or summarized the data generated from applying analytic indicators to measure engagement. The remaining 17 studies used or planned to use these data to infer a relationship between engagement patterns and intended outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Although researchers measured on average 3 indicators in a single study, the majority reported findings descriptively and did not further investigate how engagement with an app contributed to its impact on health and well-being. Researchers are gaining nuanced insights into engagement but are not yet characterizing effective engagement for improved outcomes. Raising the standard of mHealth app efficacy through measuring analytic indicators of engagement may enable greater confidence in the causal impact of apps on improved chronic health and well-being.

Relationships between Occupational Factors and Health and Well-Being in Individuals with Persistent Mental Illness Living in the Community

2007 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Eklund ◽  
Christel Leufstadius
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Occupational Factors ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health And Well Being

Purpose. This study identified relationships between occupational factors and health and well-being among individuals with persistent mental illness. Methods. There were 103 subjects assessed in regards to time spent in different occupations, activity level, satisfaction with daily occupations, and experienced occupational value. The health-related variables were self-rated health, quality of life, self-esteem, sense of coherence, self-mastery, psychosocial functioning, and psychiatric symptoms. Results. Subjective perceptions of occupational performance were consistently related to both self-rated and interviewer-rated aspects of health and functioning. While variables pertaining to actual doing showed weak or no associations with self-rated health-related variables, they exhibited moderate relationships to interviewer-rated health and functioning. Implications. The health-promoting ingredients in occupations were determined by the way occupations were perceived, rather than the doing per se. The findings indicate that perceived meaning and satisfaction ought to be prioritized when setting goals in occupational therapy practice, and, besides, that existing occupational therapy theory needs to be updated.

The Study of Human Occupations: Implications for Research in Occupational Therapy

1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 148-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Fossey
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Base ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Health And Well Being

This article outlines the need to develop a body of research in occupational therapy which, firstly, supports the theoretical base of the profession and, secondly, enables occupational therapists to define the scope of their practice and their contribution to the promotion of health and well-being in society. It proposes the study of human occupation as a focus for research, from which greater knowledge and understanding of occupations and their significance for health could be gained. Further, the dimensions and research potential of this field are explored.

Reflections On… Occupational Therapy and Assertive Community Treatment

2002 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Krupa ◽  
Debbie Radloff-Gabriel ◽  
Elizabeth Whippey ◽  
Bonnie Kirsh
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Assertive Community Treatment ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Treatment ◽  
Psychiatric Disabilities ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Health And Well Being

Occupational therapists can play a valuable role on Assertive Community Treatment Teams (ACT). ACT is a widely disseminated, community based model of service delivery for individuals with severe psychiatric disabilities and high support needs. This paper discusses the generalist and specialist functions of occupational therapists within ACT. It is argued that occupational therapy addresses the occupational health and well being of ACT clients by intervening at three levels: the individual, the program and the community. This occupational focus is consistent with the ACT goal of enhancing community adjustment and quality of life. The paper concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and the constraints that face occupational therapists working within ACT.

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