Introduction:Community development approaches are increasingly used by occupational therapists in response to occupational justice theory, which posits that both individuals and community groups may be denied access to meaningful occupations through societal powers outside their control. Previous research has found that occupational therapists feel insufficiently prepared for a role in community development and tend to use their general skill set, sometimes in combination with generic community development approaches. This study explored whether the reflective framework for community development in occupational therapy is applicable and useful for occupational therapists in the United Kingdom.Methods:A mixed methods approach was used, combining an online questionnaire and focus groups with occupational therapists who already work in community development. Findings were compared with the framework.Findings:The participants recognised most aspects of the Framework in their own practice, but some key aspects such as collaboration with the community at every stage were less prominent. They found the framework applicable to the UK context, particularly for occupational therapists inexperienced in community development practice.Conclusion:This study has highlighted community development practice by occupational therapists in the United Kingdom and concluded that the framework would support them in fulfilling this role more effectively.
Motor learning is particularly challenging in neurological rehabilitation: patients who suffer from neurological diseases experience both physical limitations and difficulties of cognition and communication that affect and/or complicate the motor learning process. Therapists (e.g.,, physiotherapists and occupational therapists) who work in neurorehabilitation are therefore continuously searching for the best way to facilitate patients during these intensive learning processes. To support therapists in the application of motor learning, a framework was developed, integrating knowledge from the literature and the opinions and experiences of international experts. This article presents the framework, illustrated by cases from daily practice. The framework may assist therapists working in neurorehabilitation in making choices, implementing motor learning in routine practice, and supporting communication of knowledge and experiences about motor learning with colleagues and students. The article discusses the framework and offers suggestions and conditions given for its use in daily practice.
Due to considerable occupational challenges and stressors, classical musicians might face increased risk for mental health issues, compared to the general population. As such, scholars have highlighted the importance of developing psychological resilience in musicians. Nevertheless, this important psychological characteristic has remained understudied within music psychology. The present study therefore examined the relationship between mental health issues and resilience. Using a cross-sectional survey design, a total of 64 musicians (including both music students and professionals) participated in this study. Results highlight that symptoms of depression/anxiety were relatively high within the current population. Moreover, music students experienced significantly more symptoms compared to professional musicians. Both resilience and general physical health were found to be negatively associated with mental health issues. The results highlight the need for further research into mental health issues in music students and provide preliminary evidence for the importance of psychological resilience in classical musicians.
Dutch society faces major future challenges putting populations’ health and wellbeing at risk. An ageing population, increase of chronic diseases, multimorbidity and loneliness lead to more complex healthcare demands and needs and costs are increasing rapidly. Urban areas like Amsterdam have to meet specific challenges of a growing and super divers population often with a migration background. The bachelor programs and the relating research groups of social work and occupational therapy at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences innovate their curricula and practice-oriented research by multidisciplinary and cross-domain approaches. Their Centres of Expertise foster interprofessional research and educational innovation on the topics of healthy ageing, participation, daily occupations, positive health, proximity, community connectedness and urban innovation in a social context. By focusing on senior citizens’ lives and by organizing care in peoples own living environment. Together with their networks, this project aims to develop an innovative health promotion program and contribute to the government missions to promote a healthy and inclusive society. Collaboration with stakeholders in practice based on their urgent needs has priority in the context of increasing responsibilities of local governments and communities. Moreover, the government has recently defined social base as being the combination of citizen initiatives, volunteer organizations , caregivers support, professional organizations and support of vulnerable groups. Kraktie Foundations is a community based ethno-cultural organization in south east Amsterdam that seeks to research and expand their informal services to connect with and build with professional care organizations. Their aim coincides with this project proposal: promoting health and wellbeing of senior citizens by combining intervention, participatory research and educational perspectives from social work, occupational therapy and hidden voluntary social work. With a boundary crossing innovation of participatory health research, education and Kraktie’s work in the community we co-create, change and innovate towards sustainable interventions with impact.
De Regionale Kenniswerkplaats Jeugd en Gezin Centraal is een netwerk van ouders, jeugdigen, praktijkorganisaties, gemeenten, opleidingen en kennisinstituten in de jeugdregio’s Eemland, Lekstroom, Utrecht-West en Zuidoost Utrecht. De netwerkpartners delen bestaande kennis en ontwikkelen samen nieuwe kennis om (boven)regionale jeugdvraagstukken aan te pakken.Doel De Regionale Kenniswerkplaats Jeugd en gezin Centraal heeft als doel het genereren, verzamelen en delen van kennis om jeugdigen zo gezond, veilig en kansrijk mogelijk te laten opgroeien. Resultaten De resultaten van de projecten binnen deze werkplaats volgen. Looptijd 01 september 2020 - 01 september 2024 Aanpak De netwerkpartners hebben relevante jeugdvraagstukken verzameld en beschreven in een kennisagenda die jaarlijks geactualiseerd wordt. Deze vormt de basis voor de werkplaatsactiviteiten. De werkplaats start een vierjarig project rondom het vergroten van mentale weerbaarheid omdat veel jeugdigen (prestatie)druk en ongezonde stress ervaren. Gelijktijdig zijn kortlopende projecten mogelijk over actuele onderwerpen die aansluiten op de kennisagenda. Downloads & links Podcast over schoolstress en prestatiedruk, gemaakt door Social Work studenten. Kennisagenda Jongerensamenvatting Regionale Kenniswerkplaats Jeugd en Gezin Centraal {pdf} Samen leren en verbeteren in de regio: regionale kenniswerkplaatsen jeugd van start. Nieuwsbericht ZonMw april '20 Samenwerking met kennispartners We werken samen in een netwerk van ouders, jeugdigen, praktijkorganisaties, gemeenten, opleidingen en kennisinstituten in de jeugdregio’s Eemland, Lekstroom, Utrecht-West en Zuidoost Utrecht: Altrecht GGDrU Jeugdhulpregio Eemland Jeugdhulpregio Lekstroom Jeugdhulpregio Utrecht West Jeugdhulpregio Zuid Oost Utrecht Kenniscentrum Kinder- en Jeugdpsychiatrie Nationale Jeugdraad Nederlands Centrum Jeugdgezondheid Netherlands School of Public and Occupational Health Nederlands Jeugd Instituut Pharos SAVE Midden-Nederland SWV de Eem SWV (VO) Eemland Trimbos-Instituut UMCU Universiteit Utrecht UW Ouderplatform Youké
