Therapeutic approaches to health and wellbeing have traditionally assumed that meaningful activity or occupation contributes to health and quality of life. Within social psychology, everyday activities and practices that fill our lives are believed to be shaped by structural and systemic factors and in turn these practices can form the basis of social identities. In occupational therapy these everyday activities are called occupations. Occupations can be understood as a contextually bound synthesis of meaningful doing, being, belonging and becoming that influence health and wellbeing. We contend that an integrative review of occupational therapy and social psychology literature will enhance our ability to understand the relationship between social structures, identity and dimensions of occupation by elucidating how they inform one another, and how taken together they augment our understanding of health and wellbeing This review incorporates theoretical and empirical works purposively sampled from databases within EBSCO including CINAHL, psychINFO, psychArticles, and Web of Science. Search terms included: occupation, therapy, social psychology, occupational science, health, wellbeing, identity, structures and combinations of these terms. In presenting this review, we argue that doing, being and belonging may act as an important link to widely acknowledged relationships between social factors and health and wellbeing, and that interventions targeting individual change may be problematic.

The identification of a plan for addressing the lower ratings in these three competencies should be considered.

Introduction: The ability to make daily autonomous occupational choices has been identified as a human right and positively linked to wellbeing. Those marginalized from choice are considered at risk of occupational injustice. Disadvantaged young people are one group who may be marginalized from making such choices. Occupational choice is largely assumed to be an internal, individual process based on abilities and motivation, within environmental boundaries. From an external, contextual standpoint, this process has been scantly explored. This research, underpinned by an occupational justice perspective, sought understanding of disadvantaged young peoples' daily choices. Method: Qualitative and participative methods were used. Nine young people, aged 11-14 participated in Photovoice and photo elicitation interviews. Data were analysed thematically. Findings: Occupational choices are contextually informed and constrained, as illustrated by three themes: a limited perception of choices, choices informed by a need to stay connected to others and choices as a vehicle for social positioning. Conclusion: Occupational choices do not appear to emanate from internal interests and abilities but rather from necessitated and mandated actions based on socio-cultural expectations. This suggests that occupational therapists must pay closer attention to the social context that informs choices to improve wellbeing of at-risk young people.

Extrapersonal neglect is one clinical manifestation that can occur following stroke. Existing neglect assessment procedures have been criticised for lengthy administration and do not assess how extrapersonal space is affected. This study investigated the psychometric properties of a new, time-efficient screening tool for extrapersonal neglect. Full ethical approval was granted and consent obtained from 50 participants with first-time stroke. Participants were screened for extrapersonal neglect on two consecutive days by two raters using the Dublin Extrapersonal Neglect Assessment (DENA) to test inter-rater reliability. Construct validity of the DENA was investigated by comparing the DENA to the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS). Additional analyses were calculated between the DENA and the extrapersonal items of the CBS (CBS-E). The kappa statistic, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland Altman analyses were calculated to determine excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC 0.971, κ = .876) and significant correlation between the DENA and the CBS and CBS-E (ICC 0.870, 0.934, κ = .793, .833, respectively). Bland Altman analyses demonstrated acceptable levels of agreement between the DENA raters, and the DENA and CBS, with no systematic differences evident. The DENA provides clinicians with a quick and psychometrically sound screening tool for extrapersonal neglect to ensure this impairment is addressed in stroke rehabilitation.

Purpose Occupational choice describes the process that leads to occupational engagement as a result of intrinsic and extrinsic influences. There has been a considerable amount of research concerning occupational choice, gender and adolescence. However, this has largely focused on the areas of career choice and engagement in risky health behaviours. This paper aims to expand on the literature by providing a broader scope of occupation more aligned with the concept associated with occupational science. Furthering this, the researcher aims to examine the influence of gender as an extrinsic influence on occupational choice. The researcher aims to explore how contextual influences inform gendered occupational choice. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory qualitative approach was used in the current study. Incorporating photographs as a means of elucidating conversation during the interview process, photo-elicitation interview techniques were used as part of the data collection. This involved using a collection of photographs to prompt participants to discuss their interpretations of various occupations. Six adolescent boys and girls aged 11-14 years participated in the study. Participants were recruited from mixed-gendered sports clubs in the West of Ireland. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. An occupational justice perspective was used to interpret the data. Findings Responses suggest that gender informs occupational choice through different mechanisms. These included social systems, physical and institutional opportunities as well as expectations participants held of themselves and others they considered to be within their social grouping. Social systems included groups such as friends and family. The ease of access to physical and institutional resources was another factor that informed choice. Participants projected views of expectations they perceived others held for them informed how the participants made their choices. These factors varied across gender. Despite opportunities being available to both sexes, choices were often restricted to particular occupations. Originality/value The findings suggest that factors informing the occupational choices of adolescents included a combination of intrinsic factors such as gender and perspectives, as well as external factors including peers, family and opportunities in the local community. Practical applications of this involve acknowledging and further understanding the contextually situated nature of choice to provide more equitable practice. The results of the study may provide more insight into the factors that enable and inhibit occupation. A further understanding of these influences can redirect how we view adolescent occupations in a way that promotes health.