Occupational Science Perspective Research Articles

The perspectives of doing, being, belonging, becoming on older homecare recipients’ use and experiences with technologies in the Assisted Living Project in Norway

ABSTRACT The Assisted Living project (2016-2019) aimed to investigate older adults’ needs for digital technology for daily support and to develop technology solutions in collaboration with the user group. This paper presents data extracted from three sub-studies: Sub-study 1 investigated older homecare recipients’ use of and attitudes towards digital technology, sub-study 2 explored assisted living residents’ needs and requirements for technology, and sub-study 3 explored their experiences with environmental sensor technology to support safety and daily living. The aim was to explore how the occupational science concepts of doing, being, belonging, and becoming can provide a deeper understanding of technology use among participants in the Assisted Living Project. This study demonstrates that for older adults in the Assisted Living project to become technology users required both personal motivation and cognitive capacity for learning to use the device and become familiar with the technology, and access to internet and digital tools. Digitalization in society leads to new challenges for all citizens, especially those who are less familiar with using digital technology. By applying an occupational science perspective to technology use, this paper contributes to creating awareness about digital exclusion and occupational injustice. It provides a deeper understanding of use and non-use and the digital divide, such as the consequences of not having access to digital healthcare services, that may lead to breaches of democratic human rights.

Designing and Implementing an Integrated Occupational Therapy Foundations Course: Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Perspectives

Designing and Implementing an Integrated Occupational Therapy Foundations Course: Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Perspectives

Social Implications of Technological Disruptions: A Transdisciplinary Cybernetics Science and Occupational Science Perspective

Social Implications of Technological Disruptions: A Transdisciplinary Cybernetics Science and Occupational Science Perspective

Batok: The exploration of Indigenous Filipino tattooing as a resistive collective occupation

ABSTRACT Batok (also known as Fatek/Burik/Tatak/Batek/Patik) is an Indigenous Filipino tattooing practice where the practitioner marks the skin by hand-tapping the ink using bone/wood implements. Previous research on tattooing from an occupational science perspective has considered European tattooing and its engagement and implication on the individual. This qualitative research explores how batok is experienced by the person and their identified community. Three Filipino participants with batok, and four family or community members were interviewed. Thematic analysis highlighted three themes recognized as Kapwa, Revealing One’s Batok, and Decolonization and Reclamation as a Cultural Practice. These themes are situated in the lens of a collective occupation and encapsulate the experience of the batok process among individuals with batok and their family/community members. Findings support the conceptualization of batok as a resistive collective occupation. This research provides deeper insight into the collective occupation of Indigenous cultural practice, with the potential to expand occupational science’s understanding of decolonizing occupations.

Alienação ocupacional e a saúde mental de estudantes universitários

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.

‘Making a home’: an occupational perspective on sustaining tenancies following homelessness

Tenancy sustainment is fundamental to a sustainable exit from homelessness. Although growing attention has been placed on housing outcomes, there is limited research on the maintenance of a settled home following homelessness. The aim of this study was to understand the process for individuals as they transitioned from services to sustained tenancies from an occupational science perspective. A constructivist grounded theory study was conducted with people who had experienced multiple exclusion homelessness. Interviews using reflexive photography were carried out with individuals (N = 29) from three cities in the UK and Ireland. ‘Making a home’ was the core process identified in tenancy sustainment. It highlighted the significance of everyday activities and routines in enabling participants to personalise the tenancy, develop their identity as tenants, and maintain daily routines and roles to support it. An occupational perspective can enhance understanding of tenancy sustainment following homelessness.

Situating occupational injustices experienced by children with disabilities in rural India within sociocultural, economic, and systemic conditions

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to diversifying and situating understandings of occupational injustices through presenting findings from the knowledge generation phase of a participatory action research (PAR) project that utilized participatory filmmaking with children with disabilities in rural South India as co-researchers. Centering on situations of occupational injustices generated through a participatory analysis conducted with the child co-researchers, a critical theoretical analysis, informed by critical occupational science and critical disability perspectives, was carried out. This theoretical analysis of data generated through the filmmaking process, as well as data generated with parents of children with disabilities, community members, and service providers, was used to elucidate forces shaping and perpetuating occupational injustices within the study context. Findings address the complex layers of sociocultural, economic, and systemic forces shaping occupational injustices, as well as ways contested responsibility and individualization of issues limited collective action. The paper illustrates the contributions that can be made through critical participatory approaches to enhancing understanding of the production and perpetuation of occupational injustices in ways that contribute to nuanced understanding of diverse human occupations. As well, issues of occupational injustice related to occupational marginalization, restricted occupational possibilities, occupational degradation, and non-sanctioned occupations are fore fronted.

An exploration of occupational choices in adolescence: A constructivist grounded theory study

Background Adolescence is a critical period within the life course, for developing adult occupational competencies and health behaviours. Few studies have considered how 16–17 year olds choose activities and behaviours from an occupational perspective. Aim and objectives To explore how adolescents aged 16–17 years old make choices about their daily occupations to inform a theoretical model of occupational choice. Materials and methods About 27 secondary school students aged 16–17 years attended one of six focus groups. Transcripts were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory, informing the iterative development of a theoretical model of occupational choice. Results Adolescent occupational choice occurred in response to experiencing needs, and was characterized by ‘weighing up’ and ‘juggling’ the following four key domains: ‘Appraising values and priorities’, ‘Interacting with the situational context’, ‘Exploring skills and occupational repertoire’ and ‘Considering time factors’. A developing sense of responsibility and autonomy for occupational choices was described, leading to the development of the future occupational self. Conclusions and significance A theory illuminating how adolescents make choices was developed. The theory aligns with existing developmental literature and provides unique insights, from an occupational science perspective, on the conscious process by which adolescents make, develop and adapt choices about the occupations they do considering contextual and individual opportunities and constraints.

Picturing precarity through occupational mapping: Making the (im)mobilities of long-term unemployment visible

ABSTRACT The 2008 recession had long-lasting economic effects that made everyday experiences of precarity more prevalent in many countries. Within a broader neoliberal context, however, the prevalence of precarity and its social production tends to be obscured, leading to a need for actions aimed at enhancing social awareness and informing social change. In this article, we illustrate how the precarity associated with long-term unemployment, which persisted at historically high levels through 2018, can be made visible by analyzing the mobilities of occupational engagement. Our illustrations derive from a larger four-phase collaborative ethnography conducted in the United States and Canada between 2014 and 2018. Informed by a critical occupational science perspective, the study utilized multiple methods to generate data with participants who self-identified as being long-term unemployed. One of those methods, occupational mapping, explored how participants negotiated daily routines and occupations at the local scale during their unemployment. Analysis of four exemplar cases, as informed by the mobilities paradigm, illuminates the lived impacts and geospatial effects of precarity on everyday occupations in situations of long-term unemployment. Findings contribute to the wider examination of how precarity is spatially experienced within the situation of long-term unemployment as reflected in people’s (im)mobilities and occupational engagement.

Refugees and asylum seekers in Australian print media: A critical discourse analysis

ABSTRACT The occupational possibilities available to refugees and asylum seekers upon arrival in Australia are influenced by the discourses in Australian print media that shape knowledge, attitudes, and subjectivities, including which people and what occupations are ideal and possible. This paper sought to expose and challenge discourses constructing subjectivities and shaping the occupational possibilities or occupational injustices for refugees and asylum seekers within the Australian context. A critical discourse analysis of Australian local and national newspapers was conducted. A theoretical framework constructed from the work of Foucault and Fairclough was applied, with findings informed by an occupational science perspective. Three core subjectivities were identified in the print media discourse: wretched identities, suspicious fugitives, and cultural usurpers. These constructions highlighted the way in which discourses within the Australian print media can limit occupational possibilities for refugees and asylum seekers to those occupations relevant only to survival, surveillance, or assimilation. Implications for occupational possibilities may include occupationally restrictive boundaries upon resettlement and justification for excluding refugees and asylum seekers from Australian society. The disempowering nature of these subjectivities reflects aspects of Australian discourses that should be and can be challenged.

Readying for Reunification: North Korean Refugees' Aspiration as Citizens of South Korea

In 2019, 33,523 North Korean refugees were granted citizenship and lived in South Korea. There is growing concern that rather than guaranteeing participation, their citizenship is associated with marginalization, alienation, and isolation. Guided by an occupational science perspective and Straussian grounded theory, this study explored how they participate in society through engaging in everyday activities using 10 semi‐structured interviews that were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. It found that the South Korean governmental stance toward reunification, compounded by ethnic homogeneity, eased the participants' transition to the host society. In response, participants engaged in or pursed activities they hoped would prove useful for the reunification of Korea. Readying for reunification encapsulated a meaning participants attached to their everyday activities while pursuing citizenship of South Korea. This article concludes by recommending the urgent need for social outreach initiatives, where North Korean refugees utilize their trans‐national knowledge for the reunification.

Essential characteristics of sleep from the occupational science perspective

Sleep occupation bears interesting and particular characteristics when described from the occupational science perspective. This theoretical essay examines literature from different disciplines, as well as key concepts of Occupational Science to contribute to this perspective of sleep. Firstly, the article describes sleep occupation as a pillar of health, wellbeing, and quality of life in human beings. Then, the essay focuses on how the occupation emerges in early life in the context of family routines and rituals. Daily participation and sleep are analyzed in response to two major questions that have arisen related to this occupation: how participation can be observed in an occupation characterized with periods of a reversible loss of consciousness, and how these periods could be integrated into a unique and particular occupation such as sleep. Afterward, the essay focuses on orchestration and synchronization as essential processes in the occupation. Sleep occupation meanings are described as a great contribution to people’s identity and sense of belonging. Finally, sleep occupation is proposed as an occupational right. Understanding crucial sleep characteristics offer a broad vision from an occupational perspective. The possibility to examine this essential occupation for human life opens an opportunity to enrich the vision about what individuals do to sleep, how they organize it, and promote or not their health, besides how contextual elements support or not this occupation.

The meanings attributed to community gardening: A qualitative study.

Whilst the geographical, sociological, and ecological roles of community gardens have been explored previously, the meanings associated with community gardening are unclear. This narrative inquiry study aimed to understand the meanings attributed to community gardening from an occupational science perspective. Photo elicitation was used alongside narrative interviewing with eight metropolitan South Australian community gardeners. Narrative analysis highlighted five themes: a sense of community; a chance to share; an opportunity to grow; a therapeutic place; ecological contributions. These themes aligned with four dimensions of meaning theorised in the occupational science literature - doing, being, belonging and becoming - with doing and belonging being most evident in our study. Health professionals are encouraged to consider community gardens as places that provide clients with opportunities for enhancing these dimensions of meaning, through engaging in a range of activities, experiencing a sense of belonging and strengthening their identity. By adopting an occupational science lens, these findings provide a new perspective on the importance of engaging in community gardening.

Occupational science in a Nordic environment

ABSTRACTAlthough there are significant differences among the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Sweden), their welfare models of society share many common characteristics as contexts for occupational science research. This paper presents the author’s perspective, based on a decade long interest in occupational science, of how everyday life, health and social concerns in the Nordic welfare societies are understood and mirrored in occupational science research themes and perspectives. A second aim is to provide examples of current directions of Nordic occupational science. Concepts such as justice, equality of life quality, access to public services have been, and continue to be, essential values in the Nordic countries. For this reason, well-being, access to meaningful and healthy occupational engagement, and a holistic occupational perspective have particular interest to and have been investigated by several Nordic occupational scientists. Research discussions also deal with how key theoretical concepts within occupational science are understood in the Nordic contexts and how these understandings relate to development in society. In this context, occupational science can be seen to contribute important knowledge of, and perspectives on, the value of meaningful occupational engagement in citizens’ everyday lives.

Prerequisites and driving forces behind an extended working life among older workers

Background: Reforms are changing pension systems in many European countries, in order to both restrict early retirement and force people to extend their working life. From occupational therapy and occupational science perspectives, studies focusing on aspects of working life that motivate the older worker is urgent.Aim: The aim was to describe incentives behind an extended working life among people over age 65.Method: Focus group methodology was used, with participants ages 66–71, from varying work fields: construction and technical companies and the municipal elderly care sector.Findings: Work was considered important and valuable to the degree of how challenging work was, the possibilities for inclusion in a team of colleagues and the chances for better personal finances. Amongst all, the participants expressed a feeling of a strengthened identity by being challenged and having the opportunity to manage working tasks.Conclusion: The finding showed the actual reasons behind an extended working life among older workers. However, a risk of rising social inequity may appear with increased working life if older people are forced to extend their working life due to a difficult financial situation as a pensioner. A variety of retirement options and initiatives in order to support older workers are justified.

Meeting in Diversity: Occupation as Common Ground - Occupational Science Perspectives from and for Europe

Meeting in Diversity: Occupation as Common Ground - Occupational Science Perspectives from and for Europe

Woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault, and its impact upon the occupation of work: Victim/survivors' life roles of worker or student as disruptive and preservative.

Woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault globally remains largely unknown and unaddressed. Expectedly, victim/survivors often cope alone, or with limited support, in the traumatic aftermath of their sexual victimisation. Work is one occupation that is impacted upon at this time. The study explored the perceived impacts of woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault, the subsequent experience of disclosure, reaction, and support, and the consequences for victim/survivors' subjective experience of occupation. The study combined a sociological auto/biographical approach with an occupational science perspective. A web-based survey generated initial data, and was also used as a sampling tool; subsequently, 10 respondents were interviewed face-to-face, in various UK locations. An eleventh respondent shared her story through correspondence. Four key themes emerged: 1) Identity; 2) Emotion; 3) Survival; and 4) Occupation. The latter, occupation, incorporated study and work. For these victim/survivors, work or education can be experienced as either: disrupted (triggering) or as preservative (maintenance). Their life roles as worker or student were impacted by feelings that they could have performed better and achieved more. Occupational therapists and other relevant service providers could work with sexually victimised people in order to participate more satisfactorily and healthily in the occupation of work.

The attendees’ view of quality in community-based day centre services for people with psychiatric disabilities

Background/aims: Community-based day centres in Sweden are well-established arenas for psychiatric rehabilitation, but little is known of the attendees’ perception of the quality of the service provided. The aim of the study was thus to describe and investigate the quality of the services in community-based day centre for people with psychiatric disabilities.Methods: A sample of 218 attendees in 14 community-based day centre services in Sweden completed the Quality in Psychiatric Care – Daily Activities (QPC-DA).Results: The results showed that people with psychiatric disabilities perceived the quality of community-based day centre services as high. Most notably, quality of service was rated higher by those with lower educational level, had waited shorter time to attend the centre, and had better mental and physical health. However, particularly aspects of a secluded environment and participation (information) may be areas with potential for improvement.Conclusion/significance: From an occupational science perspective, the results adhere to the importance of occupational balance, with periods of rest/privacy during the time at the centre.

Understanding tattooing from an occupational science perspective

ABSTRACTAn occupational science perspective was applied to explore engagement in and potential implications of tattooing for individuals, using a qualitative phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with six participants defined as mainstream tattooees, which includes individuals motivated by aesthetics or self-expression and whose tattoos are placed to enable concealment, thus avoiding stigma. Eight themes were identified including how tattooing was adapted to meet individual needs, its benefits in relation to creating positive emotions, improved body image and connection with others. However, stigma associated with tattooing may restrict engagement. The themes were considered within Wilcock’s (2006) doing-being-becoming-belonging framework. Doing was adapted to meet individual needs and restricted by external factors. Being involved how personal tattoos were and the emotions experienced. Becoming incorporated a transformation of the body and self through tattoos. Belonging was experienced through connections created by tattoos. The findings support an occupational understanding of tattooing by drawing links between participant experiences and theoretical concepts.

“Activated, but Stuck”: Applying a Critical Occupational Lens to Examine the Negotiation of Long-Term Unemployment in Contemporary Socio-Political Contexts

Background: Solutions for the problem of long-term unemployment are increasingly shaped by neoliberally-informed logics of activation and austerity. Because the implications of these governing frameworks for everyday life are not well understood, this pilot study applied a critical occupational science perspective to understand how long-term unemployment is negotiated within contemporary North American socio-political contexts. This perspective highlights the implications of policy and employment service re-configurations for the range of activities that constitute everyday life. Methods: Using a collaborative ethnographic community-engaged research approach, we recruited eight people in Canada and the United States who self-identified as experiencing long-term unemployment. We analyzed interviews and observation notes concerning four participants in each context using open coding, critical discourse analysis, and situational analysis. Results: This pilot study revealed a key contradiction in participants’ lives: being “activated, but stuck”. This contradiction resulted from the tension between individualizing, homogenizing frames of unemployment and complex, socio-politically shaped lived experiences. Analysis of this tension revealed how participants saw themselves “doing all the right things” to become re-employed, yet still remained stuck across occupational arenas. Conclusion: This pilot study illustrates the importance of understanding how socio-political solutions to long-term unemployment impact daily life and occupational engagement beyond the realm of job seeking and job acquisition.