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Are health promotion and prevention interventions integrated into occupational therapy practice with older adults having disabilities? Insights from six community health settings in Québec, Canada.
- Source :
- Australian Occupational Therapy Journal; Feb2015, Vol. 62 Issue 1, p56-67, 12p
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Background/aim Increasingly, health-care systems should promote seniors' health and prevent disability. As they enable engagement in meaningful activities within the individuals' living environment, community occupational therapists have great potential to contribute to health promotion and prevention. Despite this potential, little is known about current health promotion and prevention activities in occupational therapy community practice. This study thus aimed to: (1) identify health promotion and prevention interventions used with seniors having disabilities, and (2) explore barriers to integrating such interventions into practice. Methods Secondary data analysis of a qualitative study was carried out using thematic saliency analysis. Eleven community occupational therapists working with seniors having disabilities were recruited in six community health settings in Québec, Canada. Observations of 12 home visits, followed by 12 semi-structured interviews, were conducted with occupational therapists. Results Most interventions involved optimising independence in personal care and mobility. Explicit health promotion interventions were limited and included enabling healthy lifestyles by increasing health literacy and empowerment. Meaningful activities (leisure, community participation) were not targeted. Barriers to integrating health promotion into practice were clients' complex health conditions and limited openness to change combined with organisational and professional obstacles, such as a misunderstanding of occupational therapists' role in health promotion. Conclusions Health promotion and prevention interventions are not intentionally integrated into community occupational therapy practice with seniors having disabilities. As a result, seniors' needs to engage in meaningful activities might remain unmet. Overcoming barriers to integrating health promotion and prevention in practice could help improve population health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- GERIATRIC assessment
OLDER people with disabilities
AGING
CHRONIC diseases
COGNITION
COMMUNITY health services
EMPLOYEES
EXPERIENCE
GROUNDED theory
HEALTH promotion
HOME accident prevention
HOME care services
INTERVIEWING
LIFE skills
RESEARCH methodology
SCIENTIFIC observation
OCCUPATIONAL therapy
OCCUPATIONAL therapy services
QUESTIONNAIRES
REHABILITATION
RISK assessment
SOCIAL participation
COMORBIDITY
ACTIVITIES of daily living
SECONDARY analysis
THEMATIC analysis
LIFESTYLES
INDEPENDENT living
GERIATRIC rehabilitation
DATA analysis software
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00450766
- Volume :
- 62
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 100781913
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12174