The Individual as Mediator of thePerson‐Occupation‐Environment Interaction: Learning from theExperience of Refugees

Abstract

This ethnographic research explored the changes that occur in daily occupations when an individual's environment is drastically altered. In particular, the experiences of eight adult refugees who relocated from Burundi, central Africa, to Canada were examined. Both informal and formal participant observer methods over a period of 16 months and in‐depth interviews were used to explore the experiences of Burundian refugees. The findings indicate that the physical, socio‐cultural, political and economic environmental changes that these refugees experienced impacted on all aspects of their daily occupations and on their perceptions of themselves. Although occasionally occupations continued as before, for the most part, they were altered or abandoned and new occupations were added. With few exceptions, the person mediated the occupational change stimulated by the environmental change. This study reinforces the interplay between the person, environment and occupation and points to the role of the person as mediator of that interplay.

Key words:

• Burundi
• Occupational change
• Self‐image
• Environmental change
• Refugee