Repository logo
 

Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies

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

Browse

Start date: 2021Subject: search.filters.subject.Occupational Therapy

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Assistive technology: Occupational therapy assessment and services for people with dementia
    (SAGE, 2024-05-21) Curnow, Eleanor; Maclean, Fiona; McCormack, Brendan
    Introduction: Research suggests that services are not effectively providing suitable assistive technology for people with dementia. There is a need to understand the challenges facing practitioners to identify where service changes should be focussed to improve this situation. Method: This study used an online survey to explore the experiences of 41 occupational therapists working with people with dementia, and/or assistive technology. Eight participants subsequently agreed to participate in online discussion groups. Group discussions were transcribed and checked. Data responses from group discussions and open questions in the survey were analysed thematically using the person-centred framework to identify domains supporting or obstructing effective assistive technology service delivery. Results: Forty-one occupational therapist participants described challenges to providing person-centred assistive technology services. These included restricted access to assistive technology interventions, limited knowledge regarding developments in the field, variable funding, unsupportive systems, limited relevant training and difficulties working across health and social care sectors. Conclusion: There is a need to revise the systems surrounding the provision of assistive technology for people with dementia. Occupational therapists need access to training relative to this field, and systems need to be adapted to support the provision of person-centred care by widening access to assistive technology.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Occupational alienation and the mental health of university students
    (FapUNIFESP (SciELO), 2022-06-08) Nañagas, Maria Lucia; Kantartzis, Sarah
    Abstract Mental health, especially in the youth, has been a prevailing concern in recent years. University students are a particularly high-risk population for mental health problems. Changing perspectives in the field of mental health present the opportunity to explore this concept through an occupational justice lens – specifically that of occupational alienation. Through a brief review of relevant literature, this critical essay will explore the relationship among the concepts of alienation from both a sociology and occupational science perspective, and consider the insights that may be obtained through application of this concept to understanding the mental health of university students. The use of an occupational justice lens provides an opportunity for an alternative perspective when considering factors potentially contributing to the mental health problems in this population.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    “Making change by shared doing”: An examination of occupation in processes of social transformation in five case studies
    (Taylor & Francis, 2022-03-09) Schiller, Sandra; van Bruggen, Hanneke; Kantartzis, Sarah; Laliberte Rudman, Debbie; Lavalley, Ryan; Pollard, Nick
    Background: As social and health inequalities deepen around the world, scholarship in occupational therapy and occupational science has increasingly emphasised the role of occupation as a powerful tool in transformative processes. Objective: To explore how opportunities for everyday doing together may contribute to processes of social transformation by identifying ways occupation is being taken up in socially-transformative practice. Material and Methods: A generic descriptive qualitative case study design was utilized in order to describe current practice examples and identify ways occupation was being taken up in five initiatives working towards social transformation located in Canada, Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Results: Focusing on the positioning of occupation within the initiatives, three themes were developed: The intentionality of the process, the nature of occupation within the initiatives, and the role of occupation within the processes of social transformation. Conclusions and Significance: Providing examples of agency on the micro level and of engagement with socioeconomic, political and cultural power structures at the societal level, this analysis raises important considerations in addressing how occupational therapy practice can move in socially responsive and transformative directions.