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Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/25

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Author: search.filters.author.Morgenthaler, ThomasHas files: Yes

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Developing the Playground Play Value and Usability Audit (PVUA) Tool: An Evaluation of Content Validity via an Expert Panel
    (Project MUSE, 2025-08) Morgenthaler, Thomas; Loebach, Janet; Lynch, Helen; Pentland, Duncan; Kottorp, Anders; Schulze, Christina
    This study describes procedures for developing and exploring the content validity of a tool to audit playgrounds for play value and usability for diverse populations. Development of the tool included reviewing existing tools, creating an initial draft from evidence literature, followed by iterative rounds with an international, interdisciplinary expert panel (N=22). Panelists' comments and ratings of relevance and clarity supported refinements of items, content areas, scoring, instructions, and interpretations of the PVUA content. The preliminary tool consists of 203 items divided across 28 content areas and two domains. Future research should examine PVUA's reliability and construct validity using a diverse sample of playgrounds.
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    Using visual research methods to study occupations: A scoping review
    (Informa UK Limited, 2025-06-18) Bratun, Urša; Morgenthaler, Thomas; Lee, Ben D.
    Background Visual research methods (VRMs), including photovoice, photo-elicitation, drawing, collaging, and videography, are increasingly employed in qualitative research exploring occupation. However, an in-depth analysis of these methods within occupational science (OS) and occupational therapy (OT) is scarce. Objectives To summarize the literature on VRMs and critically analyze the use within OS and OT, with a particular focus on the methodological aspects of VRMs’ application. Materials and methods The six steps of the scoping review framework were followed. The extracted data were analyzed using summative content analysis. Findings Seventy-three articles were included in the analysis. VRMs were used with people of all age groups across all continents, with and without disabilities or health conditions. VRMs were used both independently and in combination with other research methods, most often within ethnographic or phenomenological methodological frameworks. Thematic analysis was the most frequent method of data analysis. Conclusions and significance The review provides insights into occupation-related topics and populations studied using VRMs and the methods of collecting and analyzing data from visual materials. VRMs can enhance occupation-focused participatory research. It is essential that researchers in OS and OT adhere to rigorous protocols and to clearly articulate the purpose of using VRMs.
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    Walking, talking, playing: Children with disabilities’ outdoor play in French mainstream schools
    (Taylor & Francis Group, 2025-02-03) Orain, Clémence; Morgenthaler, Thomas; Schulze, Christina
    Background Children’s right to play remains underexplored in French mainstream schools. France’s inclusive education policies aim to include children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, but this transition can create challenges hindering meaningful play opportunities. This highlights the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of children’s experiences of play in school playgrounds. Aim This study explores children with disabilities’ experiences and perspectives on their outdoor play in French mainstream school playgrounds. Material and Methods Walking and Talking tour interviews were conducted with thirteen children with various disabilities across six mainstream schools in western France. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results (1) ‘I can(not) play’: Environmental Barriers and Opportunities; (2) ‘I have an idea’: Children’s Preferences for Enriching Play and Inclusion; (3) ‘Learn to Hear Me Out’: Strengthening Children’s Participation in Everyday School Practices including Playground Redesign. Conclusions and Significance This study highlights the barriers children with disabilities face in French mainstream school playgrounds. It emphasises the need for collaborative co-design to create inclusive and playful environments. Findings have implications for occupational science, inclusive education, school-based occupational therapy, and urban design. Future participatory research should explore the co-design of school playgrounds, involving all relevant stakeholders.
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    Using the Theory of Affordances to Understand Environment–Play Transactions: Environmental Taxonomy of Outdoor Play Space Features—A Scoping Review
    (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2024-05-28) Morgenthaler, Thomas; Lynch, Helen; Loebach, Janet; Pentland, Duncan; Schulze, Christina
    Importance: The transactions between the physical environment and children’s play have not been well studied. The theory of affordances provides a way to better understand how environmental characteristics offer opportunities for play occupation. Objective: To investigate the relationship between environmental characteristics of outdoor play spaces and children’s outdoor play and to develop an environmental taxonomy to support the analysis of play affordances in community play spaces. Data Sources: Peer-reviewed literature (1974–2023) was sourced from a previously published scoping review (Morgenthaler, Schulze, et al., 2023). The Academic Search Complete, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched using the keywords and synonyms of playground, environmental qualities, and children with and without disabilities. Study Selection and Data Collection: A secondary analysis of the previously published scoping review was conducted. Included studies were those that provided descriptions of physical environment–play activity transactions. Findings: A qualitative content analysis of 45 articles was conducted and used to form an environmental taxonomy. This taxonomy consisted of 14 space and object categories defined by their functional qualities and linked to play affordances. An array of 284 play occupations were identified in different forms. Play affordances of spaces and object categories and their functional environmental qualities were subsequently identified. Conclusions and Relevance: This study provides evidence to support the understanding of how the physical environment shapes children’s outdoor play occupations. Plain-Language Summary: The study authors developed the Environmental Taxonomy of Outdoor Play Space Features as a tool that occupational therapists can use to better understand and describe how the physical environment shapes opportunities for play. The tool could also be useful to justify environmental intervention in schools and public playgrounds to create spaces that support more play for a diversity of children.
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    Environmental Qualities That Enhance Outdoor Play in Community Playgrounds from the Perspective of Children with and without Disabilities: A Scoping Review
    (MDPI, 2023-01-18) Morgenthaler, Thomas; Schulze, Christina; Pentland, Duncan; Lynch, Helen
    For children, playgrounds are important environments. However, children’s perspectives are often not acknowledged in playground provision, design, and evaluation. This scoping review aimed to summarize the users’ (children with and without disabilities) perspectives on environmental qualities that enhance their play experiences in community playgrounds. Published peer-reviewed studies were systematically searched in seven databases from disciplines of architecture, education, health, and social sciences; 2905 studies were screened, and the last search was performed in January 2023. Included studies (N = 51) were charted, and a qualitative content analysis was conducted. Five themes were formed which provided insights into how both physical and social environmental qualities combined provide for maximum play value in outdoor play experiences. These multifaceted play experiences included the desire for fun, challenge, and intense play, the wish to self-direct play, and the value of playing alone as well as with known people and animals. Fundamentally, children wished for playgrounds to be children’s places that were welcoming, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. The results are discussed in respect to social, physical, and atmospheric environmental affordances and the adult’s role in playground provision. This scoping review represents the valuable insights of children regardless of abilities and informs about how to maximise outdoor play experiences for all children.