Exchanging Knowledge Within a Community of Practice: Toward an Epistemology of Practice in Occupational Therapy Paediatric Hospital Care

Abstract

Abstract:Objective: This research proposed the creation of a community of practice (CoP) with the objective of: (i) analysing the feasibility of a CoP as a means of generating knowledge among occupational therapists and (ii) investigating the practice of occupational therapy with hospitalized children and adolescents. This article privileges the results of one of the predominantly discussed themes -the use of assessments and strategies of evaluation in Occupational Therapy in the hospital context. Method: A participatory action research study was undertaken with nine occupational therapists in face-to-face meetings combined with virtual tasks on an on-line platform. A hermeneutic and dialectical method was used to interpret the results. Results: The CoP produced practical knowledge about the use of assessments with hospitalized children and adolescents and demonstrated to be a strategy of knowledge development through dialogue and collaborative reflection on practice. Conclusion: Research on the implementation of communities of practice offers a promising approach to the production of knowledge in occupational therapy.The generated knowledge is representative of occupational therapists' experiences and demonstrates an example of an epistemology of practice. Keywords

A Community of Practice of primary health care occupational therapists: Advancing practice‐based knowledge

“…This study was designed as a participatory action research project (PAR), with the aim of enabling a collaborative process of knowledge exchange to advance understanding and inform decisions about how to act in complex realities (Toledo et al, 2014). Action research principles resonate with CoP principles (Wenger, 1998), and other studies have already used these approaches together (Wilding et al, 2012;Galheigo et al, 2017). Based on PAR principles, decisions related to the functioning of the CoP, such as days, frequency and duration of meetings, topics discussed, and activities developed, were decided collectively by the participants.…”

“…Occupational therapy studies that utilise CoPs as a methodological path encourage professionals to critically reflect on their situated practices. Galheigo et al (2017) present a context-based assessment framework produced by Brazilian occupational therapists through participation in a CoP, that helps therapists to organise information about clients' processes of becoming ill, receiving treatment, and being hospitalised. Marcolino et al (2017) noted that Brazilian novice occupational therapists working in mental health care developed strategies to better communicate their actions through narrative perspectives, and also identified tensions between their practice and the biomedical model.…”