Over the past decades, numerous occupational therapy frameworks have been published and adopted in the West but there is little discussion of their applicability to Singapore. The purpose of this study was to examine the relevance and applicability of occupational therapy frameworks in Singapore. Data were gathered from nine highly experienced occupational therapists. Audio-taped semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Qualitative methods were used in identifying five themes--independence, applicability of client-centred practice, concepts of occupation/activity, client's areas of concern, and application of occupational therapy models to practice. The themes were discussed in the context of three broad areas: (1) the potential discrepancy between occupational therapy's philosophical base and clients' values, (2) mismatch between the occupational therapists' prescription of activity and the meaning of activities to clients, and (3) the potential conflict between the occupational therapy approach and the corporate culture in Singapore. One of the important results from the study was that in Singapore culture, clients generally did not believe that achieving independence was important and they expected to be taken care of by their families. Further research with a larger sample is necessary to explore how culture and societal values impact on occupational therapy practice in Singapore.
Meaningful engagement in activity is associated with the maintenance of health and wellbeing, but reduced activity participation is common among persons with dementia. Family care-givers play an important role in engaging their relatives with dementia in activities but little is known about their perception of occupational engagement. This study aimed to examine care-givers’ perception of occupational performance of their relatives from three aspects: person, occupation and environment. Adopting a qualitative methodology, semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 family care-givers. Care-givers were also asked to document the activity patterns of their relative, using the Activity Card Sort Hong Kong version (ACS-HK). The ACS-HK findings suggested that high-demand leisure activities were mostly retained (61%) while instrumental activities of daily living were the least retained (37%). Qualitative analysis revealed that care-givers’ perception of activity participation was intertwined with their motives and behaviours to get their relatives engaged in activities. Care-givers acknowledged occupational engagement as a means of maintaining wellness and used various strategies to encourage their relative's activity participation. Apathy and passivity, however, are difficult to deal with. Also, activity decisions appear to depend on the availability of support resources and a balance between safety concern and risk-taking. Clinical practitioners could assist care-givers by suggesting activity strategies and providing support resources for continued engagement of their relative in activities.
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