Occupational Participation of Homeless People

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the occupational participation of homeless people regarding their roles, habits, and contexts. The specific aims of the study were to examine homeless people with regard to their: (a) volition; (b) recurrent patterns, that is, roles and habits, in their everyday lives; (c) capacity in occupational performance areas; and, (d) physical and social environments. The Occupational Circumstances Assessment Interview and Rating Scale Version 4.0 is a semi-structured interview that gathers information about a client concerning various aspects of their lives. The Occupational Circumstances Assessment Interview and Rating Scale Version 4.0 was administered to a convenience sample of 15 adult male participants recruited from a homeless shelter. The scoring of the Occupational Circumstances Assessment Interview and Rating Scale Version 4.0 revealed that only 13.33% of the participants indicated that they were able to facilitate participation in occupation. Fifty percent allowed participation in occupation while 28.89% inhibited participation in occupation. The remainder 7.78% restricted participation in occupation. The results of this study provide information concerning the occupational participation of homeless people. Homeless people may have difficulty facilitating participation in occupations.

KEYWORDS:

• homelessness
• OCAIRS
• occupational participation
• occupational therapy