Rehabilitation strategies enhancing participation in shopping malls for persons living with a disability

Abstract

Purpose: After rehabilitation, it is not clear the extent to which persons living with a disability return to their former activities in the community, such as going to shopping malls. Rehabilitation professionals are faced with the challenge to adequately prepare their clients to resume community participation. The purpose of this study was to identify rehabilitation strategies aimed at preparing clients to engage in activities in shopping malls.

Method: Twenty-two participants including 16 rehabilitation clinicians and 6 persons living with a disability participated in four nominal group sessions. Participants were questioned on current or potential rehabilitation strategies carried out to enhance participation in shopping malls for persons living with a disability. Discussions were audio-recorded and qualitative content analysis was conducted.

Results: Participants mentioned strategies that were either carried out by the clinician, or in collaboration with other parties. The latter type of strategies was either carried out with the collaboration of the client, the interdisciplinary team, the relatives, or community organizations.

Conclusions: Rehabilitation clinicians have a role to play in preparing persons living with a disability to resume activities in a shopping mall. Additionally, therapeutic interventions in community settings may enhance the participation of rehabilitation clients in their everyday activities.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Many strategies are currently used in rehabilitation to prepare persons living with a disability to resume shopping activities.

• Clinicians could implement shopping-oriented rehabilitation strategies with the client and/or with other rehabilitation partners.

• Involving clients in activities related to shopping might enhance their participation in shopping malls after rehabilitation.

• Rehabilitation clinicians can be facilitators for people living with a disability to reach optimal participation.

Keywords:

• Rehabilitation
• strategies
• intervention
• participation
• shopping
• disability

Note

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge all the participants of this study, as well as all the members of the Community of Practice of the Rehabilitation Living Lab at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR) for their contribution to this research project. The authors wish to thank the CRIR for financial support for conducting this study. The authors also wish to acknowledge the help of Delphine Labbé, coordinator of the Rehabilitation Living Lab project. The authors also acknowledge the work of N’tchidjè Doumbia and Jean-Addlaire Gaetan at Great Things Studios, who filmed the video following the data collection of this study, as well as the actors from the Théâtre aphasique, a nonprofit theater group that is exclusively composed of people with aphasia, for acting in the video. Finally, the authors are thankful to all reviewers who gave judicious advice for the improvement of this article.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1 The RehabMaLL CoP members meet twice a year in person and have online discussions on a governmental web-based forum. Topics discussed are mainly oriented toward the improvement of accessibility of public spaces in Quebec (Canada). Members participate to suggested activities on a voluntary basis.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal ? Rehabilitation Living Lab, funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec ? Santé [grant number 24499].