“Justice Becomes Our Agency.” Occupational Therapists in Germany Reflect on Their Practice Processes in and with Communities

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample description.

P	Current work setting	Client group	Education	Years of experience
				As OT	In community practice
1	Service for outpatient assisted living, state organization	People with enduring mental difficulties	OT Diploma BSc OT MA Social Work	16	3
2	Empowerment project, private organization	Occupational therapists and other professionals	OT Diploma BSc OT	13	3
3	Office for equality, institution of higher education	Students, employees, academic staff	OT Diploma Bsc OT Interprofessional Msc OT/PT/SLP	18	9
4	Office for peer counseling, private foundation	People with disabilities and their families	BSc OT MA in psychosocial counseling and law	3	3
5	City counseling center, community center for prevention and health promotion	Senior citizens	Diploma OT BA OT BA Gerontology	20	16

Note. All participants agreed to the publication of their background information.

Table 2. Interview guide, sample questions.

Research questions	Questions asked
What was your motivation/were your reasons to consider working in a setting outside the traditional health context?	Can you tell me how you came to work in the current setting? How did you decide/choose to work in a nontraditional setting outside existing health-care structures?
What do you do? What are your tasks?	Can you describe your workplace? What is the setting? Structures, who else works there, who is your client, your target group? What are your tasks? Can you describe a typical day? What exactly does that look like? Can you give an example?
Why do you think an occupational therapist (OT) can fill this position? Why do you think an OT is important in this area? What does an OT bring into such a field? What aspects of your job are OT specific? What aspects of OT do you consider important for this area? Why?	Can you talk about aspects in your work that you consider as OT specific, or specifically important? Which other aspects do you view as important in your work? Can you explain this in more detail? How do you decide on your focus? Can you explain this using an example?
How do you assess needs?	Can you describe how you assess your clients’/target group’s needs? Which elements do you consider are especially important?
How do you consider context in your work? How important is it? Does it influence your daily work? How?	How do you consider context in your work setting? For whom?
What are the goals in your work? Your goals, clients’ goals, …? How do they relate?	What do you see as goal of your work/interventions? And the client’s goals? Which goals are pre-dominant? How do you think are the goals of your work connected to those of your clients?
What is your role in the process? How do you describe your role?	How to you view your role in this particular setting? Are there any more aspects you consider as important? Can you explain more specifically?
How important do you consider OT in such roles? (local, regional, national, global)	What makes your role so specific? How is your role characterized? How important do you view your role in this area or practice? Why?