A Phenomenological Study of the Art of Occupational Therapy

If research evidence is to guide practice, the literature must reflect the art as well as the science of Occupational Therapy practice. The purpose of this research was to provide insight into the phenomenon of professional artistry and its meaning to Occupational Therapists. A phenomenological approach was used to collect data from three Occupational Therapists using in-depth interviews. Moustakas\u27s method was employed to analyze the data. Interview data described practitioners\u27 views of professional artistry of Occupational Therapy practice, how it developed, and how it was manifested in different roles. Analysis demonstrated that professional artistry formed the very heart of Occupational Therapy through a key role in the establishment of therapeutic relationships, which in turn imparted deep satisfaction to the Occupational Therapists\u27 practice

Exploring How Factors Impact the Activities and Participation of Persons with Disability: Constructing a Model Through Grounded Theory

This paper explores a conceptualization of how factors impact activities of daily living (ADL) and participation from the perspective of persons with disability. This study identified what, and how, factors perceived by participants affect their daily activities, to better inform reporting of scores obtained on measures of ADLs and participation such as the Barthel Index and the Participation Scale. Grounded theory methodology was used to conceptualize a model, employing semi-structured interviews guided by categories of the above measures. Eight themes emerged from 24 participants, resulting in conceptualization of the successful adaptation model, which demonstrates relationships amongst factors, activities, and participation. Health professionals can use this model to assist persons with disability achieve desired goals

Using Hermeneutics as a Qualitative Research Approach in Professional Practice

This paper is targeted primarily at doctoral students and others considering hermeneutics as a research strategy. Research using hermeneutics was carried out with occupational therapy educators and clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. A total of 53 participants engaged in focus groups and individual interviews over a one-year. The paper explores hermeneutics as a credible, rigorous and creative strategy to address aspects of professional practice that similarly need to be flexible, adaptable to particular needs, and justifiable in the contexts of evidence-based as well as client-centred practice. The hermeneutic study produced A Model of Professional Practice Judgment Artistry (Paterson, 2003) which is briefly described and the connections

Using Constructivist Case Study Methodology to Understand Community Development Processes: Proposed Methodological Questions to Guide the Research Process

Often, research projects are presented as final products with the methodologies cleanly outlined and little attention paid to the decision-making processes that led to the chosen approach. Limited attention paid to these decision-making processes perpetuates a sense of mystery about qualitative approaches, particularly for new researchers who will likely encounter dilemmas and uncertainties in their research. This paper presents a series of questions that assisted one Ph.D. student in making key methodological choices during her research journey. In this study, a collective case study design informed by constructivist grounded theory data analysis methods was used to develop a framework of community development from an occupational therapy perspective. Ten methodological questions are proposed regarding research question development, research paradigm, design and analysis, and trustworthiness. Drawing on examples from this research project, these questions are used to explicate the decisions made “behind the scenes”, with the intention of providing both theoretical and practical guidance to others embarking on similar research journeys

Exploring the role of cooperative governance in water resource management : a study of catchment management agencies in South Africa

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.ENGLISH SUMMARY: Water is essential for all life on earth. Now, more than ever, water has to be conserved, developed, used and managed in a manner that is equitable and sustainable. South Africa put in place the National Water Act (NWA) of 1998 after the abolishment of Apartheid in 1994 to support a more equitable water landscape. Additionally, the NWA supports South Africa’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it promotes the concept of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). IWRM calls for the decentralisation of water resource management and advocates for the integration of management mechanisms to support sustainable water management objectives. This called for the restructuring of the institutional landscape of the water sector and resulted in organising water governance and management into three tiers: The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS; at the highest level), Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs; at the regional level), and the Water User Associations (WUAs) and catchment forums (at the local level). The establishment of CMAs is essential in the decentralisation of water resource management and are crucial in facilitating cooperative governance in water management areas (WMAs). Literature points to the benefits of cooperative governance (constituting of the theories of collaboration and adaptive management) in overcoming challenges induced by fragmented water actors and megatrend influences. CMAs are thought to be key in fostering relationships between themselves, local government and other actors in a WMA. Although there is general support for cooperative governance, its implementation remains to be lacking. To date there have been delays in establishing CMAs, with only two out of the proposed eight agencies being fully functional. This has contributed to the delay of decentralising water resource management. Where CMAs are operating, there is a lack of guidance on how to practically implement and operationalise cooperative governance that allows CMAs build relationships with actors in a WMA. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how cooperative governance can be implemented through adaptive and collaborative practices to allow CMAs and other institutions in a WMA to work closely together on water-related issue. The case of the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA), in addition to the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership Cooperative Toolkit, provided a rich context for this study and helped frame the research objectives. A grounded theory methodology was employed that drew on qualitative approaches to analyse data obtained from a workshop and 11 semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors in the water sector. The findings of the study contribute to exploring how collaborative and adaptive management practices can enable the implementation and operationalisation of cooperative governance through the use of the proposed Cooperative Guidelines. The study contributes the body of water governance literature and provides recommendations for best practices of cooperative governance. The importance of embodying of cooperative governance for catchment management is highlighted. If we are to safeguard water and ensure the equitable management thereof, we must start by working together.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Water is noodsaaklik vir alle lewe op aarde. Nou, meer as ooit, moet water bewaar, ontwikkel, gebruik en bestuur word op 'n manier wat billik en volhoubaar is. Suid-Afrika het die Nasionale Waterwet van 1998 ná die afskaffing van Apartheid in 1994 in plek gestel om 'n meer billike waterlandskap te ondersteun. Daarbenewens ondersteun die Nasionale Waterwet Suid-Afrika se verbintenis tot die Volhoubare Ontwikkelingsdoelwitte aangesien dit die konsep van geïntegreerde waterhulpbronbestuur bevorder. Geïntegreerde waterhulpbronbestuur vra vir die desentralisering van waterhulpbronbestuur en advokate vir die integrasie van bestuursmeganismes om volhoubare waterbestuursdoelwitte te ondersteun. Dit het 'n beroep gedoen op die herstrukturering van die institusionele landskap van die watersektor en het gelei tot die organisering van waterbestuur in drie vlakke: die Departement van Water en Sanitasie (op die hoogste vlak), opvangsbestuursagentskappe (op streeksvlak), en die watergebruikersverenigings en opvangsforums (op plaaslike vlak). Die vestiging van opvangsbestuursagentskappe is noodsaaklik in die desentralisasie van waterhulpbronbestuur en is van kardinale belang in die fasilitering van samewerkende regering in waterbestuursgebiede. Literatuur dui op die voordele van samewerkende regering (wat die teorieë van samewerking en aanpasbare bestuur uitmaak) om uitdagings te oorkom wat veroorsaak word deur gefragmenteerde waterakteurs en megatrend-invloede. Opvangsbestuursagentskappe is vermoedelik die sleutel in die bevordering van verhoudings tussen hulself, plaaslike regering en ander akteurs in 'n waterbestuursgebied. Alhoewel daar algemene ondersteuning vir samewerkende regering is, was daar tot op hede vertragings in die vestiging van opvangsbestuursagentskappe, met slegs twee uit die voorgestelde agt agentskappe wat ten volle funksioneer. Dit het bygedra tot die vertraging van desentralisering van waterhulpbronbestuur. Waar opvangsbestuursagentskappe werk, is daar 'n gebrek aan leiding oor hoe om koöperatiewe bestuur prakties te implementeer en te operasionaliseer wat opvangsbestuursagentskappe toelaat om verhoudings met akteurs in 'n waterbestuursgebied te bou. Daarom ondersoek hierdie studie hoe samewerkende bestuurspraktyke deur aanpasbare en samewerkende praktyke geïmplementeer kan word om opvangsbestuursagentskappe en ander instellings in 'n waterbestuursgebied toe te laat om nou saam te werk aan waterverwante kwessie. Die geval van die Breede-Gouritz opvangsbestuursagentskap, benewens die Wes-Kaapse Ekonomiese Ontwikkelingsvennootskap ‘Cooperative Toolkit’, het 'n ryk konteks vir hierdie studie verskaf en gehelp om die navorsingsdoelwitte te raam. 'n Gegronde teoriemetodologie is gebruik wat op kwalitatiewe benaderings getrek het om data wat verkry is uit 'n werkswinkel en 11 semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude wat met sleutelakteurs in die watersektor gevoer is, te analiseer. Die bevindings van die studie dra by tot die ondersoek van hoe samewerkende en aanpasbare bestuurspraktyke die implementering en operasionalisering van samewerkende regering deur die gebruik van die voorgestelde Koöperatiewe Riglyne moontlik kan maak. Die studie dra die liggaam van waterbestuursliteratuur by en bied aanbevelings vir beste praktyke van samewerkende regering. Die belangrikheid daarvan om samewerkende regering vir opvangsbestuur te beliggaam, word beklemtoon. As ons water wil beveilig en die billike bestuur daarvan wil verseker, moet ons begin deur saam te werk.Master

The Use of Hermeneutics in a Mixed Methods Design

Combining methods in a single study is becoming a more common practice because of the limitations of using only one approach to fully address all aspects of a research question. Hermeneutics in this paper is discussed in relation to a large national study that investigated issues influencing the ability of international graduates to work as occupational therapists in Canada. Using methods that reflect different ontological and epistemological beliefs was necessary to attain a comprehensive view of enablers and barriers that influence workforce integration. Hermeneutics proved to be a credible and flexible strategy for combining methods to create a deep understanding of acculturation issues for international occupational therapy graduates wishing to work in Canada

The QUIPPED Project: Exploring Relevance and Rigor of Action Research Using Established Principles and Criteria

This paper is the last in a series of three manuscripts published in the TQR journal over the past few years. This work is part of a larger program of research that has been carried out by a team of researchers detailing various aspects of a three year action research project carried out from 2005 and 2008. This particular paper addresses issues of quality in action research by critiquing our research against five interdependent principles and criteria raised in the literature specifically by Davison, Martinson and Kock which was published in 2004. Our action research project aimed to facilitate interprofessional education for health care learners in the Faculty of Health Sciences at a Canadian University

Using a Common Vision of Partners in Care to Enhance Hospital Collaborative Relationships

Background: Collaborative care is a philosophy that guides the work of interdisciplinary teams, patients, and their families internationally. Hospital organizations must create and cultivate environments to meet customer, health policy, and legislative mandates for improved collaborative care. This study aimed to inform and aid cultural change related to collaborative care relationships with the goal of improving the quality of care.Methods and Findings: A critical ethnography using mixed methodologies was conducted at a mid-sized non-acute hospital in Ontario, Canada. This article presents Phase 3 of a three-phase study that engaged senior leaders (SLs) in interviews about customer service and collaborative relationships. Phase 3 findings were triangulated with prior Phase 1 study results from healthcare providers (HCPs) and Phase 2 results from mid-level leaders (MLLs). The combined findings from all three phases formed a description of the organization’s culture (self-awareness, congruency, and health), explicated five organizational tensions, and generated questions and innovative change ideas to advance growth toward a shared vision of “partners in care.”Conclusions: A shared conceptual model of partners in care emerged from the shared conversations held in the research focus groups and interviews over the three phases in the study. Organizational questions, tensions, and possibilities were revealed to advance the culture of collaboration with patients, families, and staff. Innovations were identified and implemented to enhance collaborative practice

The QUIPPED Project: Students’ Attitudes Toward Integrating Interprofessional Education into the Curriculum

Background: Healthcare learners are the future healthcare providers. The preparationthey receive in their pre-registration programs will be vital to ensuring that they practice patient-centred care. One approach to this learning model is interprofessional education (IPE).Methods and Findings: Learner attitudes towards interprofessional education and practice were obtained over a thirty-three month period from the Queen’s University Inter-Professional Patient-centred Education Direction (QUIPPED) project. Attitudes were measured by questionnaires based on a 6-point Likert scale. The learners received a number of opportunities to engage in IPE and demonstrated positive attitudes. The degree to which one or more educational initiatives can make a difference in attitude is limited. However, over the course of the project both statistically significant and clinically meaningful differences were found. Different health professional student groups, including medical, medical radiation technology, nursing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy learners varied in their attitudinal responses, demonstrating they have already acquired professional identity.Conclusions: Recommendations include offering varied opportunities to learners, and providing them with the tools to communicate and collaborate together. Limitations include a lack of empirical evidence as to whether IPE translates into interprofessional practice and better patient-centred care

Using Hermeneutics to Understand Burnout and Coping Strategies Utilized by Occupational Therapists

This research article explores the use of the hermeneutic approach in understanding practice challenges for occupational therapists in the contemporary health care arena. It provides insights into factors that lead to therapist burnout and the strategies they utilize to maintain competent practice. In this mixed methods study, hermeneutics was chosen as the qualitative approach to help understand the meanings occupational therapists ascribe to stressful situations at work and how they cope with those situations. Data was collected by conducting focus groups and semi-structured interviews with seven participants. Demands on time, conflict, lack of respect and autonomy emerged as the main practice issues. Maintaining healthy boundaries, importance of workplace and home community, monitoring self for signs of burnout and focusing on satisfying aspects of work emerged as the major coping strategies employed by the participants