Building Bridges: Integrating Disability Ethics Into Occupational Therapy Practice

Perceived Facilitators and Barriers for Actual Arm Use during Everyday Activities in Community Dwelling Individuals with Chronic Stroke

BACKGROUND

Our aim was to gain a deeper understanding of perceived predictors for actual arm use during daily functional activities.

METHODS

Qualitative study. Semi-structured interview data collected from individuals with chronic stroke living in the community. Codebook thematic analysis used for the data analysis.

RESULTS

Six participants 5-18 years post stroke with moderate to severe UE impairment. Three domains were identified: Person, Context, and Task. Themes for the Person domain included mental (cognitive effort, lack of acceptance), behavioral (routines/habits, self-evaluation), and physical (stiffness/fatigue). Themes for the Context domain included social environment (being in public, presence, and actions of others) and time constraints (being in a hurry). Themes for the task domain included necessity to complete bilateral and unilateral tasks, and safety (increased risk of accidents).

CONCLUSION

Actual arm use is a complex construct related to the characteristics of the person, contextual environment, and the nature of the task. Facilitators included cognitive effort, routines/habits, self-evaluation, and the perceived necessity. Barriers included in lack of acceptance, stiffness/fatigue, being in public, being in a hurry, and risk of ac-cidents. Social support was both a facilitator and a barrier. Our results support the growing call to adopt a broader biopsychosocial framework into rehabilitation delivery.

Disability Studies and Occupational Therapy: Renewing the Call for Change

Disability studies (DS) is an interdisciplinary field grounded in a minority studies philosophy that approaches disability as a socially constructed phenomenon. The first special issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy on DS was published in 2005. The present issue serves as a follow-up to highlight opportunities for and examples of DS integration into occupational therapy education, research, and practice. Studies in this special issue reflect a DS approach to research that prioritizes lived experiences, critical approaches, and participatory methodologies. Reported interventions focus on changing societal barriers rather than remediating individual impairments and acknowledge instrumental activities of daily living often neglected by traditional research. Studies on educational practices in occupational therapy have found persistent issues around negative attitudes toward disability and many opportunities to better infuse disabilities studies into curricula. Revisiting DS as it applies to occupational therapy has shown that many of the issues and considerations raised in 2005 remain in the field today. Recommendations across articles in this special issue highlight that advocacy and working for broader social change are essential for occupational therapy practitioners, given ongoing occupational injustices for people with disabilities. Infusing DS ideas into occupational therapy can promote greater alignment with priorities of disability communities and spur professional change to dismantle oppressive structures and ideologies.