Participatory Research with Persons who Experience Mental Illness in Occupational Therapy: A Scoping Review

Background. Persons who experience mental illness also face stigma and discrimination that frequently lead to a loss of ability to exercise autonomy and agency in their lives. Purpose. The range and breadth of literature exploring participatory research with persons living with mental illness are unknown in occupational therapy and occupation science. We initiated this study to fill this gap in the existing occupational therapy and occupational science literature. Method. Using the method of Arksey and O'Malley, we have conducted a scoping review to identify the range and breadth of literature. A qualitative content analysis was performed. Findings. A total of 34 articles were included in the narrative synthesis. The content analysis led to three related themes from the included studies: (1) coming together; (2) unique potential of participatory research; and (3) challenges in conducting participatory research. Conclusions. This review highlights that participatory research is well suited to research conducted with persons living with mental illness to support meaningful engagement and minimize stigma throughout the research process. This review can guide future participatory research and practice in occupational therapy and occupational science with persons living with mental illness.

Environments that promote recovery in acute care mental health: nursing perspectives explored through interpretative description

BACKGROUND

A significant change in mental health care has involved the need to implement recovery-oriented practices and services. However, recovery-oriented care has been poorly defined within acute care mental health settings.

OBJECTIVES

The central aims of the study were to increase knowledge about what constitutes a recovery-oriented environment within contemporary acute care units and to inform recovery-oriented nursing practice.

METHODS

Interpretative description was applied to answer the question: What strategies and resources do nurses identify as being most conducive to fostering a recovery-oriented environment in acute care mental health units? Purposive sampling was used to recruit 11 nurses from 6 acute care units. The inclusion criteria included a minimum of 1-year patients and holding active nursing registration. Nursing experience in community-based or chronic care settings and with children and adolescents were exclusion criteria. Six nurses also participated in a focus group.

RESULTS

Key aspects of a recovery-oriented acute care environment included understanding the needs of individual patients along with the dynamics of the healthcare team. Nurses had important roles in promoting recovery-oriented environments and reported a need for increased resources to move beyond the bio-medical model and align practice with personal recovery.

CONCLUSION

A recovery-oriented environment was described as a safe, peaceful and holistic environment with adequate space to balance needs for privacy, interaction and activity. This environment is fostered through respectful communication and healthy relationships among team members, patients, family and formal supports. These nurses had the knowledge, skill and desire to promote recovery-oriented environments, yet resources such as leisure activities and group therapy were required to promote personal recovery.

Co-design and evaluation of a multidisciplinary teaching resource on mental health recovery involving people with lived experience

BACKGROUND

Students from a range of health disciplines need to learn from people with lived experience of mental distress and recovery to develop recovery capabilities for mental health practice.

AIMS

The aims of this study are to describe the co-design of a teaching resource, to explore the experience of people with lived experience during the resource development, and to evaluate the outcome of the resource on student recovery capabilities.

METHOD

Using a sequential mixed method, a project group consisting of six people with lived experience and 10 academics from five health disciplines was convened to co-develop teaching resources. People with lived experience met independently without researchers on several occasions to decide on the key topics and met with the research team monthly. The teaching resource was used in mental health subjects for two health professional programmes, and the Capabilities for Recovery-Oriented Practice Questionnaire (CROP-Q) was used before and after to measure any change in student recovery capabilities. Scores were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The people with lived experience were also interviewed about their experience of being involved in constructing the teaching resources. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analysed thematically.

RESULTS

The finished resource consisted of 28 short videos and suggested teaching plans. Occupational therapy and nursing student scores on the CROP-Q prior to using the educational resource (n = 33) were 68 (median) and post scores (n = 28) were 74 (median), indicating a statistically significant improvement in recovery capability (P = 0.04). Lived experience interview themes were (i) the importance of lived experience in education; (ii) personal benefits of participating; (iii) co-design experience; and (iv) creating the resource.

CONCLUSION

Co-design of teaching resources with people with lived experience was pivotal to the success and quality of the final product, and people with lived experience described personal benefits of participating in resource development. More evidence to demonstrate the use of the CROP-Q in teaching and practice is needed.

Terapia ocupacional e Paulo Freire: uma revisão de escopo

Resumo Introdução O referencial teórico e o aporte metodológico trazidos pelas obras de Paulo Freire vêm se espraiando por distintas áreas, inclusive na terapia ocupacional. Objetivo Apreender como o referencial freireano vem sendo utilizado em publicações acadêmicas da terapia ocupacional, reunindo e analisando essa literatura, para identificar eixos temáticos e lacunas presentes. Método Revisão de escopo, com levantamento de publicações nas bases de dados CINAHL, Scopus e Web of Science, focalizando artigos acadêmicos que referenciam explicitamente Paulo Freire, num período que, sem recorte inicial, foi até abril de 2020, tendo sido incluídos todos os artigos que referenciavam pelo menos uma obra do autor. Uma planilha desenvolvida no programa Microsoft Excel® reuniu os dados gerais dos artigos, cujos conteúdos foram agrupados, sintetizados e analisados a partir de conjuntos temáticos significativos. Resultados Foram identificados 56 artigos, publicados entre 1993 e abril de 2020. A obra de Freire vem sendo utilizada em publicações acadêmicas da terapia ocupacional, destacando-se o livro “Pedagogia do Oprimido” e as categorias Diálogo/Dialógica e Conscientização/Consciência crítica/política. Foram definidos e discutidos três conjuntos temáticos: 33 (58,9%) artigos que utilizam o referencial freireano para o pensar/fazer da terapia ocupacional; 10 (17,8%) em que ele parametriza a pesquisa na área; 13 (23,2%) cujas análises e proposições envolvendo a formação de terapeutas ocupacionais tomam-no como aporte. Conclusão Paulo Freire informa de diversas maneiras a terapia ocupacional, em prol de uma práxis para a transformação social, embora, em boa parte das vezes, as formulações freireanas não sejam o centro dos esforços de elaboração reflexiva.