Social participation in occupational therapy: Is it possible to establish a consensus?

Abstract

Background Social participation has been incorporated by occupational therapists in Brazil, and worldwide, as a professional concept to guide practice. The concept has been studied, defined, and constructed from multiple fields of knowledge and can be defined as the social and political involvement of people in social groups and /or public and community spaces. There are different understandings of social participation in occupational therapy and the objective of this study was to explore how Brazilian occupational therapists define social participation in their fields of knowledge. Method Through application of the Delphi technique, Brazilian occupational therapy academics and professionals who have worked in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, collaboratively responded to an online questionnaire. In the consultation phase, occupational therapists wrote their conceptions about social participation and, in the consensus phase, expressed their opinions and judgements, in order to, in a collective construction, establish a consensus on the definition of social participation. Results In the first round of the consensus phase, 38 academics and 27 professionals participated and in the second round, 20 and 14, respectively. Results were analysed quantitatively, through the establishment of degrees of agreement for conceptions arranged in statements. Then, six categories of analysis were built, which identified the multiple ways of understanding social participation: social participation and social interactions, social participation and freedom of movement, social participation as an experience in public and political life, social participation and human activities, social participation and the process of social inclusion, and social participation in the fields of knowledge and practice in occupational therapy. Conclusion There are theoretical‐conceptual differences in the understandings and uses of social participation in occupational therapy that delimit specificity and design the identities of the profession in society. The need to discuss knowledge production, accumulation, and dissemination and practices is debated.

Social participation as a possible way forward for social and occupational justice

“…If favoring social participation is one of the objectives of occupational therapy (Silva, 2021;Silva & Oliver, 2021;Lopes, 2016), as well as the construction of greater possibilities for autonomy and social inclusion (Lopes, 2016) and the search for occupational and social justice (Townsend & Marval, 2013), there is a need for greater theoretical-practical articulation of the profession with issues of citizenship, living conditions, the State, cultural diversity, rights, justice, and human capabilities. It is also necessary to advance in critical reflections in occupational therapy, to identify, question, and overcome knowledge, actions, and discourses inside and outside the profession that create, shape, and maintain conditions of injustice, socioeconomic inequality, illness, and suffering (Farias et al, 2019;Galheigo et al, 2018).…”

“…We also understand that the exercise of social participation can be one of the objectives of the therapeutic-occupational action and/or a way to reach other ends, such as facing collective problems, strengthening citizenship, promoting health, and rescuing occupational engagement (Silva & Oliver, 2021).…”

Palavras, conceitos e contextos históricos e culturais:

“…Baseadas em estudos, debates e dados advindos do Brasil 8 , propomos a discussão sobre quatro conceitos como lócus da atividade profissional: atividade humana (Francisco, 1988;Silva, 2019), ocupação (Magalhães & Galheigo, 2010), cotidiano (Bezerra et al, 2022;Farias & Lopes, 2021;Galheigo, 2020) e modos de vida (Melo & Lopes, 2023). Também, quatro conceitos como finalidades do trabalho de terapeutas ocupacionais: engajamento ocupacional, inserção/inclusão social Marcolino et al, 2020;Sousa et al, 2021), emancipação/autonomia (Lussi, 2020) e participação social (Silva & Oliver, 2021).…”

“…Em sua polissemia de significados no interior da profissão, abrange perspectivas de aplicação em diferentes campos de atuação, com enfoques individuais e coletivos. Tais usos salientam processos de pessoas, grupos e coletivos relacionados à interação social na família, com amigos e na comunidade; ao engajamento na escola, no trabalho e no lazer; bem como à dimensão política e ao acesso aos direitos e à cidadania (Silva & Oliver, 2021). Esta diversidade demonstra raízes teóricas diferentes que precisariam ser evidenciadas a depender do enfoque da ação profissional em execução.…”