Occupation as described by academically skilled occupational therapists in Sweden: a Delphi study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to continue the process of exploring and understanding the concept of occupation in a Swedish occupational therapy context and from an expert perspective. Thirteen eligible occupational therapists active in Sweden, all academically skilled and who had published articles concerning the concept of occupation or activity, were invited to take part in the study. Eight were willing to participate representing different parts of Sweden. A three-round Delphi study was conducted in which the participants reflected on 46 statements derived from a core category and five categories concerning the concept of occupation, extracted from previous studies in this project. The participants gave 124 comments on 44 of the 46 statements. Results revealed new statements, mainly concerning the intentional aspect of occupation and occupation in a structural hierarchy. Comments also contributed with rephrased statements promoting clarity. A total of 54 statements were then ranked on a four-point Likert scale of which 47 reached consensus among participants. Seven statements were not supported to a level of consensus. Four of them dealt with how and if values and individual judgements influence what are viewed as occupations. To continue the developing process, studies in occupational therapy praxis have to be performed.

Barriers of Occupation-based Intervention

“…Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 20.0 by calculating the percentage of agreement for each statement. The level of consensus was set at ≥ 70%, which meant that two-thirds of the participants must agree to strongly agree with each of statements (Keeney, Hasson, & McKenna, 2006;Mullersdorf & Ivarsson, 2011). The comments and new information from participants were analysed and synthesised to improve the statements or if appropriate to develop new statements.…”

“…They were asked to rank their agreement with the statement generated from the data collected in the first round using four-point Likert type scale from: (1) totally disagree; (2) disagree; (3) agree; and (4) totally agree (Mullersdorf & Ivarsson, 2011), on the issues in applying OBI. The participants were also allowed to comment on the statements and add new information about the issue studied.…”

Negotiating occupation: How older people make sense of the concept of “occupation”

“…In Swedish, the concept occupation is often translated interchangeably into either activity or meaningful activity (Swedish: aktivitet or meningsfull aktivitet) (Fisher, 2009;Fisher & Nyman, 2007;Müllersdorf & Ivarsson, 2011). In the instructions to the workshops, we therefore used the Swedish expression meaningful activity.…”

“…This study contributes knowledge about how older people in the context of northern Scandinavia make sense of the concept of occupation. Exploring the concept of occupation within specific contexts is important to avoid misunderstandings as the term is used both generally in society and in the specific contexts of occupational science and occupational therapy (Müllersdorf & Ivarsson, 2011). Inspired by Gubrium and Wallace's article "Who theorizes age?"…”

Use of Creative Activities in Occupational Therapy Practice in Sweden

“…The concept of occupation has been studied in a Swedish context, showing that occupation contributes to personal development, stimulates people's senses and generates positive energy, happiness and satisfaction. Occupation may not only constitute a goal and a meaning but may also result in fellowship and the creation of relationships (Müllersdorf and Ivarsson , ; Ivarsson and Müllersdorf ). Creativity and creative activities might be one form of occupation that mediates the aforementioned effects (Wikström ).…”