Focusing on the Environment to Improve Youth Participation: Experiences and Perspectives of Occupational Therapists

Dana Anaby, Mary Law, Rachel Teplicky and Laura Turner
Additional contact information
Dana Anaby: School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, 3654 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y5, Canada
Mary Law: CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 1C7, Canada
Rachel Teplicky: CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 1C7, Canada
Laura Turner: CBI Health Group, 3300 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M8X 2X2, Canada

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: The environment plays a key role in supporting children’s participation and can serve as a focus of intervention. This study aimed to elicit the perceptions and experiences of occupational therapists who had applied the PREP approach—Pathways and Resources for Engagement and Participation. PREP is a novel 12-week intervention for youth with physical disabilities, aimed at improving participation in leisure community-based activities by modifying aspects of the environment. Using a qualitative post-intervention only design, 12 therapists took part in individual semi-structured interviews, in which the therapists reflected on their experience using PREP to enable participation. A thematic analysis was conducted. Four themes emerged from the data; two of which were informative in nature, describing elements of the PREP intervention that target multi-layered composition of the environment and use strategies that involve leveraging resources and problem solving. The two remaining themes were reflective in nature, illustrating a new take on the Occupational Therapy role and re-positioning the concept of participation in therapy practices. Results emphasize aspects of the environment that can serve as effective targets of intervention, guided by the PREP approach. Findings can broaden the scope and focus of occupational therapy practice by redefining views on participation and the environment.

Keywords: participation; leisure activities; environment barriers; intervention; childhood disability; adolescence; occupational therapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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