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Feature Articles

Understanding lived experiences through multiple perspectives: Caregiving as an exemplar

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Pages 128-139 | Accepted 28 Aug 2018, Published online: 11 Oct 2018
 

ABSTRACT

Experiences are multidimensional, impactful, and often rooted in occupations, where meaning is felt, and people engage with others and learn about themselves and the world. Experiences are complex phenomena influenced by a multitude of factors, and they have a strong connection to health and well-being. Studies of lived experiences have been central to the development of occupational science. Capturing the essence of experiences can be challenging, but integrating data from multiple perspectives in research designs is a valuable strategy to address challenges to understanding experiences, including their interpersonal, interdependent, and intersubjective natures. This is especially critical for understanding circumstances in which two or more people share experiences or coordinate action together, such as in cases of caregiving. In this paper, we outline the strength and utility of methodological approaches that integrate multiple perspectives in order to understand experiences as they are situated beyond the individual. We draw on original data from a narrative and phenomenological study of lived experiences among adolescents and young adults with spinal cord injuries and their caregivers as an exemplar for discussion. Relative contributions to occupational science and limitations of a multi-perspective approach are considered.

Las vivencias son multidimensionales, impactantes, y a menudo se encuentran arraigadas en las ocupaciones, donde su significado es percibido y las personas interactúan con otros individuos, conociéndose a sí mismas y también al mundo. Estas experiencias son fenómenos complejos en los que inciden muchos factores; además, tienen fuertes vínculos con la salud y el bienestar. Los estudios de experiencias vividas han sido fundamentales para el desarrollo de la ciencia ocupacional. Si bien documentar la esencia de las experiencias puede presentar dificultades, la integración de la información proveniente de múltiples perspectivas en el diseño de investigaciones constituye una estrategia valiosa para enfrentar los desafíos que se presentan a la hora de comprenderlas; éstos incluyen su carácter interpersonal, interdependiente e intersubjetivo. Lo anterior es particularmente crucial cuando se trata de comprender las circunstancias en que dos o más personas comparten experiencias o coordinan alguna acción en conjunto, como puede ser el caso de las tareas de cuidado. En el presente artículo hacemos una descripción general de los puntos fuertes y de la utilidad que conlleva el uso de distintos enfoques metodológicos que integran múltiples perspectivas para comprender las experiencias, ya que éstas se encuentran situadas más allá del individuo. El artículo se fundamenta en información original proveniente de un estudio narrativo y fenomenológico de experiencias vividas por adolescentes y jóvenes adultos, quienes padecen lesiones de médula espinal, y por sus cuidadores, como un ejemplo que se plantea para la discusión. Finalmente, se abordan las contribuciones relativas del enfoque basado en múltiples perspectivas a la ciencia ocupacional, así como sus limitaciones.

经历是多方面的,有影响力的,往往植根于生活活动中。在这样的活动中,人们能够感受到意义,与他人互动,了解自己和世界。经历是受多种因素影响的复杂现象,它们与健康和福祉有着密切的联系。对生活经历的研究一直是生活活动科学发展的核心。捕捉经历的本质可能具有挑战性,但是将多个视角的数据整合到研究设计中是一种有价值的策略,可以解决理解经历的挑战,包括它们的人际间的、相互依赖的和主体间的性质。这对于理解两个或更多人共享经历或协调行动的情境尤其重要,例如照顾情境。在本文中,我们概述了方法论方法的优势和实用性。这些方法综合了多个视角来了解经验,因为它们在个人所及范围之外。我们利用来自对脊髓损伤的青少年和年轻人及其照顾者的亲身经历的叙述和现象学研究的原始资料作为讨论的范例。我们考虑到对生活活动科学的相对贡献和多视角方法的局限性。

Acknowledgements

We thank participants in the original research, who welcomed us into their homes and their lives. We also thank colleagues Jesus Diaz, OTD, OTR/L, and Jennifer Bashar, OTD, OTR/L, BCPR, CBIS, for their assistance and support during execution of the research.

Grants/Funding

No specific funding was received for the preparation of this manuscript, but support for the original research was provided, in part, through grants from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Pipeline-to-Proposal Award Program (Tier I, Contract #3414629), the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy, the Society for the Study of Occupation, and the University of Southern California Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions of the research funding agencies.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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