Participation and social participation: are they distinct concepts?

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of participation has been extensively used in health and social care literature since the World Health Organization introduced its description in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in 2001. More recently, the concept of social participation is frequently used in research articles and policy reports. However, in the ICF, no specific definition exists for social participation, and an explanation of differences between the concepts is not available. Aim: The central question in this discussion article is whether participation, as defined by the ICF, and social participation are distinct concepts. This article illustrates the concepts of participation and social participation, presents a critical discussion of their definitions, followed by implications for rehabilitation and possible future directions. Discussion: A clear definition for participation or social participation does not yet exist. Definitions for social participation differ from each other and are not sufficiently distinct from the ICF definition of participation. Although the ICF is regarded an important conceptual framework, it is criticised for not being comprehensive. The relevance of societal involvement of clients is evident for rehabilitation, but the current ICF definition of participation does not sufficiently capture societal involvement. Conclusion: Changing the ICF’s definition of participation towards social roles would overcome a number of its shortcomings. Societal involvement would then be understood in the light of social roles. Consequently, there would be no need to make a distinction between social participation and participation.

Everyday Life Situations of School-Aged Children with Severe Disabilities: What are the Goals for the Future? An Exploratory Study

“…In concordance with the ongoing debate about the construct of participation as context-dependent and closely related to socially and culturally defined roles [7,15,52], the findings showed a strong connection between the childrens' participation and the social environment. As people around children with SD most often mandate their involvement in ELS, it is a challenge for the adults to support the children by acting as facilitators of participation rather than barriers.…”

“…Besides, the construct of participation is not entirely clear. The definition is under debate and the interactions with others, including a subjective experience, is not completely ruled by the ICF-CY definition "involvement in life situations" [7,15]. When linking information, we focused on the children's social roles in the different environments, which might have raised our expectations on social involvement rather than performance of tasks.…”

“…Therefore, occuring ELS are the most critical features of children´s experiences during childhood [2,14]. In school contexts, participation may include a positive interaction among and acceptance by classmates [15]. With respect to children's engagement and how environments constitute affective and motivational aspects of participation, e.g.…”

Prevalence of mobility disabilities in nursing home residents and the association with age, BMI, fall risk and social participation

“…[38] Therefore, it is now used internationally [39] and has been adapted accordingly. [40][41][42] Since there is no clear definition of the social participation of residents, [43] it was analogous to Gilmour's [44] and described as daily physical activities, activities in contact with family or friendships, and recreational activities involving other people. Therefore, the synonyms in the CDS instrument, the items daily activities, recreational activities, and contact with others were used as a data basis for the quantification of the social participation of the participants.…”

Medición de la participación en niños y adolescentes con y sin discapacidad: una revisión sistemática

“…La CIF unifica los distintos conceptos de participación que se manejaban a la fecha 3 y define la participación como el "involucramiento del sujeto en situaciones de la vida" comprendiéndose ésta como el resultado de la interacción de los individuos con su entorno físico, social y actitudinal 1 , y se convierte en una fuente para una mejor comprensión del posible impacto de las deficiencias en la vida de una persona individual 4 . Tras la publicación de la CIF, la comprensión de la discapacidad se torna multidimensional, dentro de la cual la participación se convierte en pilar fundamental para la comprensión de ésta y para el desarrollo de distintas alternativas que la incorporen como uno de los objetivos fundamentales a la hora de pensar en la rehabilitación de personas en situación de discapacidad.…”