Feeling like a stranger: negotiations with culture as experienced by Chilean occupational therapists

Abstract

Background: Although occupational therapy has begun to focus on the subject of culture, few studies have examined how occupational therapists outside the English-speaking countries reflect on it.

Aim: To explore how Chilean occupational therapists reflect on their personal and professional experiences in regard to the complexity of culture, and its different understandings and expressions.

Methods: This qualitative study uses content analysis to establish common trends in participants’ experiences. A validation phase and data triangulation were implemented to ensure trustworthiness.

Results: Culture is experienced as a continuous negotiation in personal and professional terms. One central theme, ‘negotiating through the dynamism of culture’, and three categories, ‘dealing with power’, ‘understanding local and global identities’, and ‘crossing the boundaries into the client’s land’, emerged. These experiences are complex, chaotic, and highly context-dependent.

Discussion: During therapeutic encounters, practitioners and clients may experience cultural barriers even if their differences are not obvious in cultural terms. As a result of this finding, we recommend the inclusion of culture and cultural issues in professional training. The impact of a multicultural research team is discussed. Future research should explore how the construct of culture is introduced in occupational therapy professional training in Chile.

Keywords:

• Cultural characteristics
• cultural diversity
• professional practice
• qualitative research
• South America

Notes

Acknowledgements

Thanks are offered to all the interviewees who kindly and voluntarily accepted to be part of this study, sharing their knowledge and experiences, during the interviews and their reflective comments over the results. Also to Lisette Farías (Canada) and Margarita Mondaca (Sweden) – both Chilean occupational therapists and PhD students – for their valuable comments in later stages of the study.

Acknowledgement is made for their economic support to the Inga-Britt Lindström Grant Award from the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists (FSA), and to the Wilhelm och Martina Lundgrens Vetenskapsfond.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Notes

1 “AG is the acronym for “Asociación Gremial” (Trade Association) in Spanish”.

2 Chicha: fermented sweet wine. A typical drink usually served during the Chilean national day celebrations.

3 Empanada: Chilean version of stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried. It’s typically eaten on the national day, as well as on Sundays for lunch.

4 Cazuela: A dish that includes a piece of meat or chicken, soup, corn, potatoes, rice, and pumpkin.

5 Pebre: Chilean spicy dip.

6 Ankle Foot Orthosis.

7 El Mercurio is a traditional Chilean newspaper identified with conservative political ideas. Clarín was a newspaper identified with left political ideas. It was published between 1954 and 1973, when it was forbidden after the coup-d’etat (39).

8 Santiago is the capital city of Chile.