Exploring experiences of “participation” among individuals living with chronic pain

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to advance our understanding of participation and its relation to occupation, by analysing the daily occupational experiences of six men and women living with chronic pain. Open-ended interviews are used in conjunction with a constant comparative method of analysis. The findings are thematically presented as: "taking initiative and making choices", doing something physical", "doing something social", and "doing something for others". Furthermore, a short vignette is presented in which the authors attempt to juxtapose theoretical constructs with individual experiences in order to illustrate another level of contextual richness of the data. Methodological implications are discussed in relation to the findings, analytic presentation, and previous research.

Exploring potential in participation mediated by digital technology among older adults

“…The ideas in the stories about being alone, belonging together, and becoming alone together are congruent with themes pertaining to participation presented in other studies (Borell et al, 2006;Hammel et al, 2008;Silva et al, 2016). Though digital technology was a fundamental and distinguishing feature in the initiation of this study, it blended into the contexts in which participation occurred.…”

“…The contemporary notion of alone together originates from sitting alone in a room while being together with others through online networks (Locke, 1998;Turkle, 2011). Participation is also concerned with doing something for others and making an impact on others (Borell et al, 2006;Hammel et al, 2008). In order for this to happen, a person has to become.…”

“…It is impelled by a person's endeavor to master daily occupations, find meaning in daily life, connect to places and people, belong to groups, and be trusted by others (Silva et al, 2016). Participation is concerned with demonstrating agency, being active, being social, and doing something for others (Borell, Asaba, Rosenberg, Schult, & Townsend, 2006). Themes reported to pertain to participation include being treated with respect and dignity; being a part of an activity, context, social scene, or group; having choice and control; having the right to access resources and opportunities; bearing personal and societal responsibilities; having an impact and supporting others; and feeling socially connected and included in society (Hammel et al, 2008).…”

A Conceptual Definition of Vocational Rehabilitation Based on the ICF: Building a Shared Global Model

“…For example, critics have argued that the classification requires further operational definition if it is to be useful in practice [45]. The ICF was commented as created from the perspective of ''experts'' and lacks the intersubjectivity of the lived experience of disability [46]. The ICF may be too broad which makes the operationalization of its categories difficult or less precise.…”

Application of participation in clinical practice: Key issues

“…As a consequence, the body of knowledge is increasing, but this goes handin-hand with criticism. It is generally known that there are 4 important recurring limitations with regard to the concept of participation described in the literature: (i) there is ambiguity and vagueness about the term itself (21-23); (ii) differentiating between activity and participation remains unclear (24)(25)(26)(27)(28); (iii) the subjective aspects of participation are missing (23,29); and (iv) there is no consensus about how to measure participation (23,26,(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36). These limitations, which are somewhat inter-related, hamper the application of participation in clinical practice.…”