Occupations Identified in Children & Youth with and without Cancer: A Mixed Methods Approach
Event Type
Presentation
Start Date
12-9-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
12-9-2018 12:00 PM
Description
Background: The role of occupational therapy in oncology as part of supportive care is to foster functional performance in everyday living skills, utilizing a client-centered, holistic approach, despite the life expectancy of the client. Interventions implemented by occupational therapy practitioners in oncology aim to accomplish a maximum level of independence as well as improve quality of life (Longpré & Newman, 2011). However, research shows that occupational therapy is not being used to its full potential, with clients being the affected party.
Methods: A mixed methods convergent parallel design was utilized, which included a single phase of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Descriptive statistics were utilized for the quantitative portion of the study using the Childhood Occupational Self Assessment (COSA). A narrative approach was utilized for the qualitative portion of the study using semi-structured interview questions.
Results: A total of 18 participants were included in this study, of which one participant had a diagnosis of cancer. Findings indicate children with and without a diagnosis of cancer frequently participate in similar play, leisure, and social occupations. In addition, decisions regarding which occupations children engage are dictated primarily by their caregiver, often times due to external parameters out of their control.
Conclusions: The data provides some insight into the occupations that children choose, how they choose, and the impact the method of choosing utilized can have on a child with or without a diagnosis of cancer. Data obtained indicated no noticeable differences in occupations in which children with and without a diagnosis of cancer engage.
Recommended Citation
Longpré, S., Honda, J. B., Montero, L. M., Shockley, M., & Hamel, J. (2018), Occupations Identified in Children & Youth with and without Cancer: A Mixed Methods Approach, Presentation, Fourth Annual Research Colloquium, https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ot_colloquium/fourth/events/6
Occupations Identified in Children & Youth with and without Cancer: A Mixed Methods Approach
Background: The role of occupational therapy in oncology as part of supportive care is to foster functional performance in everyday living skills, utilizing a client-centered, holistic approach, despite the life expectancy of the client. Interventions implemented by occupational therapy practitioners in oncology aim to accomplish a maximum level of independence as well as improve quality of life (Longpré & Newman, 2011). However, research shows that occupational therapy is not being used to its full potential, with clients being the affected party.
Methods: A mixed methods convergent parallel design was utilized, which included a single phase of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Descriptive statistics were utilized for the quantitative portion of the study using the Childhood Occupational Self Assessment (COSA). A narrative approach was utilized for the qualitative portion of the study using semi-structured interview questions.
Results: A total of 18 participants were included in this study, of which one participant had a diagnosis of cancer. Findings indicate children with and without a diagnosis of cancer frequently participate in similar play, leisure, and social occupations. In addition, decisions regarding which occupations children engage are dictated primarily by their caregiver, often times due to external parameters out of their control.
Conclusions: The data provides some insight into the occupations that children choose, how they choose, and the impact the method of choosing utilized can have on a child with or without a diagnosis of cancer. Data obtained indicated no noticeable differences in occupations in which children with and without a diagnosis of cancer engage.