MSc in Advancing Practice in Occupational Therapy
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/10564
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Item AN EXPLORATION OF THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING OF PEOPLE WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER COMPLETING EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES WITHIN VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SETTINGS IN GREECE(2019)Objectives: The purpose of this study is to contribute to understanding of the issue of unemployment for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by exploring the educational and training process within vocational rehabilitation services in Greece. A clearer image of the factors that may hinder successful employment for people with ASD is also illustrated throughout this study. The study further aims to identify the content of the educational and practical preparation programmes for young adults with ASD in order to access paid employment. Additionally, the perceptions and experiences of the occupational therapists about the suitability, strengths and weaknesses of the educational system for people with ASD are also explored. This employment-related research study aims to achieve a better understanding of the challenges faced by this population in terms of gaining and maintaining a full-time job, based on the experience of occupational therapists within their work environment. Overall, an overview of the educational and training opportunities for people with ASD is provided throughout this study in order to achieve a deeper understanding of their preparation for real working conditions, and explore existing educational processes for young adults with ASD and their employment integration. Finally, it is hoped that this study will raise awareness about the employment issues and efforts of people with ASD, which may be used in correlation with findings from the literature in order to suggest areas for change and development. Methods: This study uses a generic qualitative approach informed by the paradigm of Interpretivism. Four occupational therapists working in three vocational rehabilitation settings in Greece were interviewed in order to gain professional insights of the educational and vocational training process in Greece. Semi structured qualitative interviews were used to gather descriptive data through the personal experiences of the occupational therapists. Thematic analysis was used to create related themes and interpret these patterns in order to explain the outcomes of the research.Item EXPLORING HEALTH AS A UNDERPINNING CONCEPT IN THE DO-LIVE-WELL FRAMEWORK AND A COMPARATIVE EXPLANATION WITH THE CONCEPT OF HEALTH IN JAPAN(2019)Promoting people’s health is one of the important tasks for occupational therapists. The idea of occupation, health, well-being and their relationship in existing many occupational therapy theories are conceptualized and explained in the western context, although they can be varied depending on social structures or cultures. On the other hand, the importance of cultural relativities and social structure when considering occupation and health has been discussed in various literature. This research aims to examine how the concept of health is understood in the Do-Live Well framework and literature which underpins the framework. Additionally, how they might be different from the Japanese conceptualized health is analysed. The scoping review is chosen as a methodology to explore the health concept which underpins the Do-Live-Well framework. 7 themes of health concepts were identified including well-being, notion of resource for everyday life, flourishing, choices, abilities and chances to engage in meaningful occupation, a balance between enjoyment, productive and resting, importance of meaning in occupation, and a relation to an interactive focus on individual’s mind, physical and spirit. Three themes which are; health as well-being and flourishing; health as having abilities choices and chances to engage in a meaningful occupation; and importance of meaningful occupation for health, were discussed with the view of Japanese contexts. Analysing the result of scoping review with the Japanese context disclosed that the degree of collectivism or individualism influences the people’s experience of well-being. Also, it is indicated that the idea of flourishing might not always lead to improved well-being for Japanese people. Additionally, the importance of considering cultural relativities for the idea of relationship of health, wellbeing and occupation was confirmed. Finally, it was suggested that further investigation on spirituality for Japanese people might be important for health promotion in the Japanese context.Item AN EXPLORATION INTO THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TRANSITIONING FROM PRISON INTO THE COMMUNITY FOR MALE EX-PRISONERS IN SCOTLAND(2019)This study explored the experience of transitioning from prison for male ex prisoners in Scotland, focusing on the factors influencing this, and the support received in prison. This study utilised a generic qualitative methodology, partnering with a charity to interview 4 participants. It was found that the nature of locations could have implications for occupational participation in the transition. Additionally, participants noted the importance of avoiding locations, describing this in relation to drug use. It was inferred that avoiding locations could be instrumental in the transition for drug-addicted offenders. Another finding was the potential for meaningful occupation in prison, arguing that offenders should be given more choice in order for this to be realised. Furthermore, it was argued that there should be more continuity of occupation in the transition. Another finding was that the lack of occupational choice in prison could limit offenders’ ability to make positive choices upon release. Participants expressed an expectation of returning to high-risk behaviour, and it is argued that this may be indicative of a criminal or addict self identity. Furthermore, participants valued motivation, however it is posited that an expectation of relapse may impede the role of motivation. An interesting finding was that two participants declined support, leading to the conclusion that services may benefit from an individualised approach to increasing service engagement. However, two participants were ineligible for support due to their sentence length, adding to the evidence base regarding the challenges of short sentences. Findings also highlighted the role that family can have in making the transition easier or more complex. The final finding was that participants serving longer sentences, with a more rigid routine, experienced difficulty maintaining a productive routine upon release. It was concluded that they might have experienced institutionalisation, in comparison those serving shorter sentences with less structure.Item AN EXPLORATION INTO THE USE OF GROUP WORK AS A CORE COMPONENT OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERVENTION IN AN OLDER ADULT PHYSICAL REHABILITATION HOSPITAL SETTING.(2019)Occupation is a core component of occupation based practice promoted within occupational therapy provision. Within literature the growth of the body of knowledge and evidence has developed to confirm the importance of occupation and health and well being. Occupational therapists commonly work with all age groups and within a variety of settings. In the small evidence based occupational therapy literature available, the importance of occupation based interventions is often stated, alongside group work as a core component of occupational therapy interventions. Whilst there seems to be an agreement across the profession that group work is a core component within occupational therapy and can be used as a beneficial occupation based intervention there is little literature to evidence the following; in which settings and with which client group, group work is seen to be most beneficial and why or whether it is generally a useful occupational therapy occupation based intervention which can be successfully used across a wide variety of occupational therapy services and service users. Moreover, patient care is rarely one dimensional, the collective skills of healthcare workers can have the greatest impact on patient outcome, and hence why multidisciplinary working and group work should be at the forefront of focus. As this is such a broad topic within occupational therapy, for the purpose of this literature review, a specific service area and service user group will be identified and explored. An older adult physical rehabilitation hospital setting is the area of interest due to personal employment and interest through individual research around the ageing population. This literature review identifies a gap in current occupational therapy literature. It provides an in depth exploration of literature exploring our ageing population and the potential benefits of using group work as a core occupational therapy intervention in an older adult physical rehabilitation hospital setting.