The article describes political and advocacy activity in nonprofit human service organizations for children, elderly people, women, and people with disabilities. On the whole, the level of their political activity was found to be moderate, as perceived by the directors of the organizations. The main findings reveal a significant positive correlation between advocacy and political activity in nonprofit organizations and their perceived influence on setting the public agenda. Analysis of the findings indicates that the larger the number of volunteers in the organization, the greater the organization's political influence. In addition, it was found that the more dependent the organizations were on funding from local authorities, the lower the level of advocacy and political activity. The effectiveness of strategies used to attain political influence was also analyzed. The most effective strategy was exerting pressure on decision makers, both on the national and local levels.

One of the founding assumptions underlying the health professions is the belief that there is a strong relationship between engagement in occupations, health, and wellbeing. The ability to perform everyday occupations (occupational performance) has a positive effect on health and wellbeing. However, there is also conflicting evidence indicating that participation in multiple roles or in certain occupations may lead to poorer health. Therefore, there is a need to better understand this relationship. The purpose of the present study was to examine three possible theoretical models to explain mothers’ health and life satisfaction from the perspective of their occupational performance, their role load, and their social support. 150 married mothers, ages of 25–45, who had at least one child between the ages of one to ten years, participated in the study. Data were collected by using seven self-report questionnaires. The models were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that social support has a direct effect on mothers’ physical health and life satisfaction and an indirect effect, mediated through the occupational performance variables, on mothers’ mental health and life satisfaction. Role overload does not affect mothers’ health and life satisfaction. These results suggest that mothers could benefit from health programs that help them manage their occupational routines. Such programs should focus on improving the mother’s occupational performance and adapting her social environment to fit her occupational needs.

The founders of occupational therapy perceived rest as one of the performance areas of the profession. They believed that an optimal balance between work, play and rest was crucial in obtaining maximal function and health. However, few occupational therapy theorists or researchers have explored the phenomenon. The authors explored the phenomenon of rest as reported in the literature and through a qualitative study. The results of the literature review showed that rest is differentiated from sleep; rest is equated with interrupting physical and mental activity resulting in a relaxed state. Rest can be achieved by listening to music, hypnosis, reading, walking and sitting quietly. In this exploratory study, seven individuals working at Tel Aviv University were interviewed regarding their definitions of rest. The results indicated that rest was defined as an activity that was personal, quiet and effortless, experienced alone or with friends, and helped in doing daily activities. It is concluded that there is a need for occupational therapists to explore further the phenomenon of rest as it relates to occupational performance, ergonomics and health maintenance. Examining the concept of rest is a challenge that involves returning to the theoretical origins of the profession.

Importance: The subjective meaning that people attach to their occupations may explain the association among participation, health, and well-being. To date, the subjective meaning of occupation among children has mostly been studied through qualitative studies. No study has yet quantitatively assessed the perceived meaning of everyday activities among children. Moreover, no study has assessed the associations between perceived meaning and actual participation. Objective: To explore the perceived meaning—value, challenge, felt time, and autonomy—that typically developing children attribute to their everyday activities and to assess the correlations between children’s perceived meaning and their participation as assessed by parents. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community. Participants: A convenience sample of 60 Israeli children (ages 6–12 yr) and their parents. Outcomes and Measures: Parents completed the Children Participation Questionnaire–School, and children completed the Perceived Meaning of Occupation Questionnaire (PMOQ). Results: Children valued their activities, they perceived the challenge as low, they felt that the time was almost equally distributed between time passing quickly and passing slowly, and they felt autonomous. The subjective perceived meanings were moderately correlated with the children’s actual participation. Conclusions and Relevance: Children are capable of reflecting on the meaning of their everyday activities. The PMOQ may assist occupational therapy practitioners in eliciting their young clients’ perspectives regarding their everyday occupations. The results contribute to the occupational science literature in the context of child development. What This Article Adds: The PMOQ enables children to reflect on their subjective perceived meanings of occupations. The subjective perceived meanings of occupations are moderately correlated with the children’s actual participation. The PMOQ may broaden the potential pathways to facilitating children’s meaningful participation in everyday occupations.

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