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The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences for health, in part due to the numerous changes to daily routines that arose due to public health measures and restrictions. The aim of this study was to examine the experience of occupational disruption during a pandemic and the consequences for mental health among women living in Croatia. In May 2020, 661 women completed an online questionnaire exploring changes to time spent engaged in various occupations, changes to the quality of occupational participation, and psychological health. While most participants experienced changes to daily occupations, these changes were not universal across occupational domains or for all participants. Cluster analysis revealed three unique groups: participants who reported poorer quality of participation in all domains ; those who reported reduced quality in most domains, but stable or improved quality in leisure and outdoor occupations ; and those who reported stable or improved quality in most domains. Participants in the first cluster exhibited significantly greater levels of anxiety, depression, and stress compared to the other two clusters, suggesting that greater occupational disruption was related to poorer mental health. This study is among the first to demonstrate the way in which the pandemic and measures used to restrict the spread of the virus have contributed to occupational disruption. Findings indicating the varying degrees to which this disruption was perceived and experienced by participants shed new light on factors that influence potential vulnerability or resilience to the effects of occupational disruption. Findings are consistent with existing work demonstrating the role of participation in maintaining health and emphasize the importance of preserving daily routines during pandemic.

In the past decades, pragmatism has been an epistemology that has inspired many occupational scientists to consider it as an interesting and desirable point of view. Attention has been drawn to the...

In occupational science, migration has mainly been considered as an ‘uprooting’ experience and occupational scientists have examined the centrality of occupation in migrants’ integration in their r...

Transitions are universal, intricate experiences and have been well documented in the occupational literature. However, literature on gay men’s experiences of transitioning through the coming-out p...

Introduction: Recent studies have explored adolescents’ subjective experiences of their occupations, but no research is available on the effect of learning difficulties (LD) on these experiences an...

Since 2015, nearly 45,000 Syrian refugees who fled the civil war have resettled in Canada. This forced migration can present significant disruptions for Syrian refugees’ everyday lives. Refugee you...

Research points to the potential benefit of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for people with learning disabilities. However, there has been limited exploration of the interconnected nature of people and social context when considering how people with learning disabilities use ICTs. The result has been an overemphasis on (and assumptions of) the skill limitations and individual capacity of people with learning disabilities and their use of ICTs. Using a transactional perspective based on the work of John Dewey, this study aimed to explore the interrelationship of people with learning disabilities, ICTs, and the social world. Using a post-qualitative and theory-driven approach, we employed a transactional perspective (namely the interrelated concepts of embodiment, habit, and growth) to analyse interview data from 10 adult participants with learning disabilities. Our analysis suggested that when people have access and opportunity to co-mingle with technology, the technology can become embodied (feel like a part of them). ICTs were found to become an extension of participants’ bodies, enhancing their literacy, learning, and connection with others. Introducing the concept of conjoint action, we explored how human and nonhuman bodies are enmeshed in the formation of what we typically think of as human habits. Participants developed more-than-human habits of ICT use that they drew from to coordinate with their everyday life, navigating everyday challenges. Yet, in restrictive social contexts (or those influenced by underlying assumptions of the vulnerability of people with learning disabilities), participants were less likely to embody ICTs in the rhythms of everyday life and experience benefits of ICT use. Our findings shed light on the entangled, transactional relationship of people and the social world, and present occupation as the conjoint action of human and nonhuman bodies.

Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, this study explored the decision-making processes mothers employ to negotiate everyday interactions with their young children. Twelve mothers of typ...

Peer-led health promotion programs rely on community members to promote health-enhancing changes among their peers. Such programs are growing in popularity and, as a useful and relevant strategy to...

Introduction: Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is often overlooked in research despite being an occupation for many people, including adolescent and adult women as well as transgender and gender ...

In direct-funded attendant services, public funds are transferred to service users to recruit, hire, train, and manage support staff. An outcome of activist efforts to deinstitutionalize support se...

The members of the Journal of Occupational Science issued a pledge to mobilize against racism in August 2020. Part of that pledge was an undertaking to “mentor and encourage authors and reviewers t...

Introduction: Occupational balance and satisfaction with daily occupations are two central concepts in occupational science. The aim of the present study was therefore to explore associations between different aspects of occupational balance and satisfaction with daily occupations. A second aim was to explore whether different aspects of occupational balance predicted satisfaction with daily occupations 12 months later. Methods: The present study had an exploratory correlational longitudinal pilot study design and was part of a project in which the Tree Theme Method was evaluated for patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Data collected directly after the intervention (n=107) and 12 months later (n=84) were used in the present study. The Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ) and the Satisfaction with Daily Occupations (SDO) were used, and binary logistic regressions were used to explore associations between them. Results: Statistically significant associations were found between the following aspects of occupational balance: Balance between work, home, family, leisure, rest, and sleep; Having neither too much nor too little to do during a regular week; Satisfaction with time spent in rest, recovery, and sleep and satisfaction with daily occupations directly after the intervention. The occupational balance item Balance between energy-giving/energy-taking occupations directly after the intervention predicted satisfaction with daily occupations 12 months later. Conclusion: This study provides some support for the assumption about an association between occupational balance and satisfaction with daily occupations. Studies with larger sample sizes and in other cultures are recommended to confirm the presence of these associations and/or to find other associations. (Less)

Tenancy sustainment is fundamental to a sustainable exit from homelessness. Although growing attention has been placed on housing outcomes, there is limited research on the maintenance of a settled...

This invited commentary responds to ‘A Pledge to Mobilize Against Racism’ (Stanley et al., 2020), a position statement published by the Editorial Board of the Journal of Occupational Science (JOS) ...

This paper contributes to diversifying and situating understandings of occupational injustices through presenting findings from the knowledge generation phase of a participatory action research (PA...

Laying Low (Bailliard, 2013a) presented focused findings from an ethnographic study with immigrants from Latin America to Smalltown (pseudonym), North Carolina. After revisiting the article, we not...

In a neoliberal socio-political climate, there is increased pressure at work as well as greater expectations regarding the performance of non-work roles. These factors compound the challenge of cop...

Occupational balance is a central concept in occupational science, but it is complex and lacks an agreed-upon definition. Further, the concept has not been given significant attention by scholars o...

The transition from driving to driving cessation in older adulthood is considered a major life transition where resulting disruptions can impact sense of self. Such transitions at this life stage o...

The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between occupational balance and well-being in older adults. The sample was 2,142 older adults (aged 65 and older; mean age=73.4; 59.6% f...

In this paper, we operationalise a postmodern conceptualisation of desire in order to articulate occupation as a passionate, creative, and productive process that is entangled with the social world...

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of occupational disruption during a pandemic among individuals living with chronic disease, with particular attention to experiences related to ...

Engagement in meaningful occupation is important to health and well-being. People living with dementia are challenged in engagement due to consequences of their disease and environmental barriers. In Europe, there is increasing interest in addressing these challenges by transforming care services into dementia-friendly contexts such as dementia towns. It is unclear, however, how engagement in occupation occurs within a dementia town. This study applies a narrative, ethnographic approach to explore how people with moderate dementia engage in occupation in the context of a Danish dementia town, and how meaning is related. Data were generated and analysed based on the “narrative in action” approach. We produced in-depth knowledge of engagement and meaning through participant observations by following nine persons for an extended period while they participated in occupations in the everyday life of the dementia town. The narrative analysis revealed an overarching narrative of “moments of meaning–possibilities for engagement” that illustrated the thin line between potential engagement and deprivation from occupation. The stories that emerged in the analysis showed how people with dementia enacted meaning through occupation. Meaningful engagement seemed to be a way for people with dementia to connect to self, others, and place. The enacted narratives display the significance for people with dementia of being able to enact their story and thus create meaning from everyday life situations. However, the process of being engaged in occupation depended on co-creation with others, who supported the enactment process by drawing on the person’s occupational biography.

Human occupation has long been a source of philosophical reflection. This article aims to revisit ideas of German philosopher Martin Heidegger, from the existential tradition, who explored question...

This article aims at revealing the impacts of depopulation in terms of the violation of the occupational rights of people who live in rural areas, away from large urban centres. The starting point is an overview of the inequalities that emerge in neglected rural areas in the European Union, followed by an analysis of the Spanish context with ageing as a salient factor. Then, the influence of rural territories on occupation is assessed, discussing the violation of occupational rights. Finally, there is a description of different macro and micro actions to address some of the occupational injustices in rural areas and to favour equality in the exercise of occupational rights from the standpoint of occupational science.

Forced migration has dramatically increased around the world during the last decade. Integration, including health and work among migrants, is an important topic in many European countries; thus, it is crucial to develop relevant approaches to address challenges that arise in tandem with migration and work. Nature-based intervention is one such approach that addresses different kinds of challenges related to human health and social welfare. The aim of this study was to build on knowledge about how a nature-based vocational rehabilitation programme influences perceived health and how it integrates into the everyday lives of migrants. Seven participants from the establishment programme run by the Swedish Public Employment Service were interviewed twice, at the start and at the end of the intervention. The semi-structured interviews focused on occupation, health in everyday life, and experiences of participating in the programme. Data were analysed and interpreted using narrative analysis. The findings are presented in three themes: meaning of place and belonging in the garden, the meaning of occupation and its transferability to everyday life, and navigating uncertainty in everyday life. The findings are discussed and interpreted using concepts such as capability, occupation, place, and work. The authors argue that successful integration in society rests on a combination of factors that need to be understood as part of a whole.

It is with pleasure that we as guest editors present the articles that were submitted following the Occupational Science Europe Conference held in Amsterdam, 2019, titled “Europe in Transition: Imp...

Given the conditions under which they live, the Sahrawi refugee population in the Algerian Hamada region are deprived of taking part in social, health, and economic systems, leading to occupational apartheid. This study applied the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire to a total of 33 Sahrawi people of an average age of 39.3 years, living in different wilayas (large camps), with the purpose of learning about their health status and functioning in the past 30 days concerning cognition, mobility, self-care, social relations, life activities, and community participation. Overall, participants faced difficulties in terms of functioning (WHODAS 2.0), particularly in their daily occupations, and even more so in their social participation. This is explained both by the occupational deprivation and apartheid they have faced for more than 40 years due to their refugee status, and by the sociopolitical factors involved, in addition to their full dependence on humanitarian aid. Accordingly, the environment and context of the Sahrawi population are particularly important in terms of their engagement in occupations.

Moving between places in the community, or community mobility, is both an occupation and a means to other occupations. In order to move around and participate in society, people with mobility impai...

© 2020 The Author(s). Physical inactivity is a global public health priority, yet people living with a disability or long-term health condition, such as those who experience mental distress, continue to face inequalities and barriers to participation in sport and physical activity. These inequalities are considered an occupational injustice, in terms of participation in health enhancing occupations being restricted for these groups of people, despite them wanting to be more active. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the nature and value of participating in a UK based community football project, for people with experience of mental distress. Twenty-three people took part in this first strand of a larger participatory action research study, which used the World Café as a method for structuring and recording conversations. Data from the three World Café events were analysed collectively and thematically. The study’s findings reveal tensions, nuances, and subtleties that exist in relation to the reciprocal relationship between playing football and people’s health and well-being. The complexity of enabling participation in sport and physical activity amongst marginalised groups, such as people with experience of mental distress, is highlighted. Elizabeth Casson Trust

Opportunity is an acknowledged, yet ‘taken-for-granted’ concept in occupational science, and specifically within occupational justice discourse. This paper presents a commentary on Peters and Galva...

This paper aims to contribute to more comprehensive understandings of occupation by: 1) conceptualizing gendered occupation as a theoretical tool to aid scholars in unpacking the gendered and polit...

This invited commentary further explores the viewpoints offered by Lavalley and Johnson (2020), and deepens the analysis of collective and anti-racist occupations. The intent is to illuminate sever...

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of social ideologies on the doing, being, becoming, and belonging of Western employed professional women who are new mothers, after returning to w...

The process of evaluating and understanding occupation as something people want or are obligated to do and its impact on health and survival is as old as the occupational therapy profession (Johnso...

Occupational science has evolved into a globally situated academic discipline that is generating knowledge related to individuals and their lived experience and occupations, and their communities’ ...

Background: Social participation is associated with positive health outcomes for seniors. However, not all seniors may be able to achieve a satisfactory level of participation. Purpose: This study ...

Investigations on occupational imbalance and on hurriedness have shown that working mothers experience diminished well-being in response to time pressures and efforts to balance work and family. Fe...

Climate change and environmental degradation are largely attributed to human occupations. However, concern for the integrity of the natural environment is often absent from occupationally focused h...

The availability of and access to fair opportunities has been proposed as significant to promoting occupational justice. This paper presents a scoping review that aimed to explore how the concept ‘...

I write today from Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq where my university is located. Everyone in this place is bound by Treaties of Peace and Friendship signed in the mi...

The aim of this study was to investigate how female sex workers perceive and describe meaning when engaging in the non-sanctioned occupation of sex work. Method: In-depth semi-structured interviews...

As a white woman, I have often felt immobilised in talking about race. So much of it is the instant shame I feel about my past, growing up in Zimbabwe during colonial rule and remembering things I ...

Transitions are a normal part of life, affecting people’s identity and life course. Evidence supports the idea that there is a significant occupational impact on people who experience sudden and un...

In response to calls for challenging coloniality and imperialism within occupational science, this paper outlines central tenets of decolonial theory and decolonizing methodological approaches to i...

The 2008 recession had long-lasting economic effects that made everyday experiences of precarity more prevalent in many countries. Within a broader neoliberal context, however, the prevalence of pr...

The anti-racism virtual issue of the Journal of Occupational Science (JOS) came about after the Editorial Board expressed its commitment to anti-racist work, publishing the position statement ‘A Pledge to Mobilize Against Racism’ (Stanley et al., 2020). In this statement, the Board promised to republish a collection of articles to call attention to racism and its impact on individuals’ doing and society. The intent is to stimulate critical reflection on the contribution occupational scientists can make to exposing and countering racism in everyday doing. As such, the anti-racism virtual issue helps meet a pressing need to recognize the power of occupation in shaping and reproducing social ideologies, attitudes, and behaviors. We, the authors, urge all occupational scientists to build on this knowledge and continue learning about racism to better understand and address how its different dimensions manifest through occupation and everyday life.

This article proposes that ‘meliorism’—a philosophical belief in people’s abilities to improve lived experience through engaged problem-solving—is a useful concept to describe and orient occupation...

Global demographic trends and the current limitations of housing options for older adults mean new housing models are needed for this diverse population. Alternative ways of living, like senior coh...