Since mobility and social participation are key determinants of health and quality of life, it is important to identify factors associated with them. Although several investigations have been conducted on the neighborhood environment, mobility and social participation, there is no clear integration of the results. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding regarding how the neighborhood environment is associated with mobility and social participation in older adults. A rigorous methodological scoping study framework was used to search nine databases from different fields with fifty-one keywords. Data were exhaustively analyzed, organized and synthesized according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) by two research assistants following PRISMA guidelines, and results were validated with knowledge users. The majority of the 50 selected articles report results of cross-sectional studies (29; 58 %), mainly conducted in the US (24; 48 %) or Canada (15; 30 %). Studies mostly focused on neighborhood environment associations with mobility (39; 78 %), social participation (19; 38 %), and occasionally both (11; 22 %). Neighborhood attributes considered were mainly ‘Pro ducts and technology’ (43; 86 ) and ‘Services, systems and policies’ (37; 74 %), but also ‘Natural and human-made changes’ (27; 54 %) and ‘Support and relationships’ (21; 42 %). Mobility and social participation were both positively associated with Proximity to resources and recreational facilities, Social support, Having a car or driver’s license, Public transportation and Neighborhood security, and negatively associated with Poor user-friendliness of the walking environment and Neighborhood insecurity. Attributes of the neighborhood environment not covered by previous research on mobility and social participation mainly concerned ‘Attitudes’, and ‘Services, systems and policies’. Results from this comprehensive synthesis of empirical studies on associations of the neighborhood environment with mobility and social participation will ultimately support best practices, decisions and the development of innovative inclusive public health interventions including clear guidelines for the creation of age-supportive environments. To foster mobility and social participation, these interventions must consider Proximity to resources and to recreational facilities, Social support, Transportation, Neighborhood security and User-friendliness of the walking environment. Future studies should include both mobility and social participation, and investigate how they are associated with ‘Attitudes’, and ‘Services, systems and policies’ in older adults, including disadvantaged older adults.

/pdf/importance-of-proximity-to-resources-social-support-4f3y7xz0mn.pdf

Importance of proximity to resources, social support, transportation and neighborhood security for mobility and social participation in older adults: results from a scoping study

A hypothesized relationship between engagement in meaningful activities and quality of life was tested for thirty-two individuals attending a community mental health agency's programs. They completed the Lehman Quality of Life Interview; the Derogatis Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, and the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS), constructed for this study. It measures 12 facets of the meaningfulness of activities and includes some open-ended questions. Its test-retest reliability and Cronbach Alpha were .69 and .84, respectively. Participants were involved in a wide range of activities that were most lacking in providing appropriate challenge and a sense of control. Engagement in meaningful activities was significantly correlated with satisfaction with life as a whole (p < .05), but depression accounted for most of the variance. Some support is provided for the theorized value of meaningful activity engagement and recommends strategies to increase the meaningfulness of activities. Findi...

The relationship between engagement in meaningful activities and quality of life in persons disabled by mental illness.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of music therapy techniques as an aid in improving mood and social interaction after traumatic brain injury or stroke. Design: Eighteen individuals with traumatic brain injury or stroke were assigned either standard rehabilitation alone or standard rehabilitation along with music therapy (3 treatments per week for up to 10 treatments). Measures: Pre- treatment and posttreatment assessments of participant self-rating of mood, family ratings of mood and social interaction, and therapist rating of mood and participa- tion in therapy. Results: There was a significant improvement in family members' assessment of participants' social interaction in the music therapy group relative to

/pdf/effect-of-music-therapy-on-mood-and-social-interaction-among-408bkkgsoq.pdf

Effect of music therapy on mood and social interaction among individuals with acute traumatic brain injury and stroke.

Background. Photovoice is a participatory action research method combining photography and group work to give people an opportunity to record and reflect on their daily lives.Purpose. To review the use of Photovoice in health research and consider the implications for occupational therapy research.Methods. Literature review, guided by a scoping framework, reveals the purposes, rationales and populations with whom Photovoice has been used.Findings. From 351 documents retrieved, 191 original studies were surveyed; 68% were peer-reviewed. The majority of studies (76%) occurred within the public health domain and a smaller percentage (24%) with individuals experiencing a specific illness and/or disability, with very few (2%) documented in the occupational therapy literature.Implications. Photovoice provides a useful framework to apply a participant-centred research approach on occupational participation. It is important to consider and further examine ethical and methodological issues related to stigma, physi...

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2182/cjot.2012.79.3.8

A scoping review of the Photovoice method: implications for occupational therapy research.

This article presents an integrative perspective on the role that doctor-patient communication and cultural competency training play in health care disparities. Communication between minority patients and physicians is characterized by doctors' biased expectations, patients' perceptions of discrimination, linguistic asymmetry, and self-fulfilling prophecy spirals. Cultural competency training, which has been put forth as a remedy, is itself a complex construct, and methodological variations in cultural competency research make it difficult to reach simple conclusions about its effects. The authors review and synthesize the cross-disciplinary literature in these areas. They propose several directions for research, emphasizing that new studies can lay the groundwork for more trusting verbal communication between doctors and minority patients.

Doctor-Patient Communication, Cultural Competence, and Minority Health: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives

Cultural sensitivity is a crucial component of health care provision, particularly in psychiatric settings. As society becomes more multicultural, it is essential for occupational therapists to continue to develop cultural competence, which is defined in this paper as an awareness of, sensitivity to, and knowledge of the meaning of culture. At San Francisco General Hospital, an innovative multicultural model consisting of special focus programs is used. The key to the success of such programs is a culturally competent professional staff.

/pdf/culturally-competent-occupational-therapy-in-a-diversely-1s9h6h0bcd.pdf

Culturally competent occupational therapy in a diversely populated mental health setting.

Introduction:Social participation has been found to promote health and wellbeing for older adults. In this study, well older adults participated in photovoice to explore how they create and maintain social participation while living alone in an urban community in California.Method:Photovoice is an action research method in which people create and discuss photographs, and then share them with legislators, policy makers and health care providers to generate personal and community change. Photographs convey the participants' points of view directly and show others what life is like for a given group of people.Findings:The study found that social participation is promoted through a sense of belonging, acceptance of differences and change, and healthy and active living. Barriers to social participation included access to safe transportation and costs associated with resources.Conclusion:The results of this study are important and inform occupational therapy intervention, such as advocating for community resour...

Well Older Adults within an Urban Context: Strategies to Create and Maintain Social Participation:

The purpose of this study was to identify effective discharge assessment tools, examine clinical reasoning skills and use of client-centered practice in discharge planning from acute care hospitals...

Occupational Therapy Discharge Assessment of Elderly Patients from Acute Care Hospitals

It has long been common knowledge that music profoundly affects human beings on a variety of levels. Occupational therapists have at their disposal a potentially powerful therapeutic tool, but the specific effects of this tool have not been documented. Occupational therapists have a history of using music in their treatment, probably to a greater extent than is documented in the literature. It would be advantageous for us to engage in research regarding the application of music to occupational therapy.

Should music be used therapeutically in occupational therapy

Interviews with five occupational therapists who use humor therapeutically in their practice were conducted and analyzed with a phenomenological method so that the lived experience of therapeutic humor use in occupational therapy could be examined. Sixteen themes were identified through data analysis: The Concept of Therapeutic Use of Humor; Spontaneous Versus Deliberate Humor; Humor, the Great Equalizer; Humor and Professionalism; Contraindications of Humor; Humor Among Co-Workers; Humor and Play; Humor and the Environment; Humor Providing Balance; The Intrinsic Quality of Humor; The Transformative Power of Humor; The Effects of Humor on the Subjects Themselves; Humor as an Evaluation and Treatment Tool; Humor as Therapeutic Use of Self; Humor as a Coping Mechanism; and Other Uses of Humor With Patients. This study revealed that the use of therapeutic humor in occupational therapy is a multifaceted phenomenon, much richer than had been previously presented in the literature.

/pdf/therapeutic-use-of-humor-in-occupational-therapy-1mt9u690q0.pdf

Anne MacRae

Papers

Culturally competent occupational therapy in a diversely populated mental health setting.

Well Older Adults within an Urban Context: Strategies to Create and Maintain Social Participation:

Occupational Therapy Discharge Assessment of Elderly Patients from Acute Care Hospitals

Should music be used therapeutically in occupational therapy

Therapeutic use of humor in occupational therapy.