Chapter 1 - Occupational Analysis and Group Process

Occupational Analysis and Group Process

Activity analysis

involves examining the aspects of activities required to carefully plan how to work with clients and help them meet their goals.

Body functions

impaired attention, memory, or perception may interfere with a person's ability to engage in the activity.

Client factors

are neuromuskoskeletal, sensory and pain, and mental (specific and global) functions.

Values

Priniciple, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable by the client who holds them

Beliefs

Cognitive content held as true

Spirituality

The “personal quest for understanding answers to ultimate questions about life, about meaning, and the sacred”

Activity analysis

involves examining the aspects of activities required to carefully plan how to work with clients and help them meet their goals,

Objects used

helps practitioners decide if the client or group members are able to carry out the activity.

Space demands

The practitioner may decide that space is a limiting favor for a specific activity.

Social demands

the first step in developing activities to address socialization. Practitioners determine the rules of the interactions, expectations of the activity and other participants, and cultural expectations.

Sequence and timing

Understanding the order of each step and the timing involved allows the practitioner to completely understand the activity and use clinical reasoning to determine if the activity can be successfully completed by the members in the desired time frame.

Performance skills

Occupational therapy practitioners become skilled at analyzing all actions actions and performance skill necessary for clients to successfully engage in purposeful activities and occupations.

Required actions

practitioners are able to modify or adapt activities so members can complete them. Allows practitioners to preplan and decide in wnich aspects of the activity the members may have difficulty.

Client factors

OT practitioners examine and determine how they support or interfere with a client's ability to complete the required action or performance skill.

Objects and their properties

Tools, materials, and equipment used in the process of carrying out the activity.

Space demands

(relates to physical context) Physical environmental requirements of the activity (e.g., size arrangement, surface, lighting, temperature, noise, humidity, ventilation)

Social demands

(relates to social environment and cultural contexts) Social environment and cultural contexts that may be required by the activity.

Sequencing and timing

Process used to carry out the activity (e.g., specific steps, sequence, timing requirements)

Required actions and performance skills

The usual skills that would be required by any performer to carry out the activity Sensory, perceptual, motor, praxis, emotional, cognitive, communication, and social performance skill should each be considered. The performance skills demanded by an activiy will be correlated with the demands of the other activity aspects (e.g., objects, space)

Required body structures

“Anatomical parts of the body such as organs, limbs, and their components [that support body function] that are required to perform the activity.

Motor

Actions or behaviors a client uses to move and physically interact with tasks, objects, contexts, and environments, (Includes planning, sequencing, and executing new and novel movements.)

Praxis

Skilled purposeful movements, ability to carry out sequential motor acts as part of an overall plan rather than individual acts; ability to carry out learned motor activity, including following through on a verbal command, visual-spatial construction, ocular and oral-motor skils, imitation of a person or an object, and sequencing actions, organization of temporal sequences o actions within the spatial context, which form meaningful occupations.

Sensory-perceptual skills

Actions or behaviors a client uses to locate, identify, and respond to sensations and to select, interpret, associate, organize, and remember sensory events based on discriminating experiences through a variety of sensation that include visual, auditory, proprioceptive, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, and vestibular.

Emotional regulation skills

Actions or behaviors a client uses to identify, manage, and express feelings while engaging in activities or interacting with others.

Coginitive skills

Actions or behaviors a client uses to plan and manage the performance of an activity.

Communication and social skills

Actions or behaviors a person uses to communicate and interact with others in an interactive environment.

Body functions

include such things as mobility of joints and level of conciousness.

Body structures

include the number of hands and body parts.

Performance patterns

This includes the member's habits, routines, rituals, and roles.

Cultural

Personal

Temporal

Virtual

Physical

Social

OTPF describes six contexts this are:

Occupational analysis

involves considering the activity demands associated with an occupation.

Occupations

are the activities in which people find meaning and provide them identity.

Purposeful activities

help individuals develop skills that assist them in occupational engagement.

Preparatory methods

help regain function, consisting of range of motion, applying an orthosis, and hand-over-hand assisstance.

Cultural context

includes customs, beliefs, patterns, behavior standards, and expectations accepted by the society of which the client is a member. Includes ethnicity and values as well as political aspects, such a laws that affect access to resources and affirm personal rights. Also includes opportunities. for education, employment, and economic support.

Personal context

refers to”features of the individual that are not part of a health condition or health status.” Includes age, gender, socioeconomic status, and educational status. Can also include organizational levels (e.g., volunteers and employees) and population levels(e.g., members of society).

Temporal context

refers to”location of occupational performance in time” and the experience of time as shaped by engagement in occupations. The aspects of occupation that “contribute to the patterns of daily occupations” are “the rhythm…tempo…synchronization…duration…and sequence.” Includes stages of life, time of day or year, duration, rhythm of activity or history.

Virtual context

includes the environment in which communication occurs by means of airways or computers and an absence of physical contact. Includes simulated or real-time or near-time existence of an environment via chat rooms, e-mail, video conferencing, radio transmissions.

Physical context

includes natural and manufactured nonhuman environments and the objects in them.

Natural environment

includes geographic terrain, sensory qualities of environment, plants, and animals.

Manufactured environment and objects

includes buildings, furniture, tools, or devices.

Social context

constructed by presence, relationships, and expectations of persons, organizations, populations. Includes availability and expectations of significant individuals, such as spouse, friends, and caregivers; relationships with individuals, groups, or organizations; relationships with systems (e.g., political, legal, economic, institutional) that are influential in establishing norm, role expectations, and social routines.

Group process

A group consists of two or more people who meet to address a specific task or goal.

Forming

the practitioners may invite participants or select members based on their goals.

Storming

This is an effective way to establish the rules and allow members to resolve conflict. During this stage, members may need redirection and information to stay on course.

Norming

the group engages in activity together and begins to feel an identity. Members divide responsibilities and begin to cooperate to produce results.

Performing

the group members work together and begin to realize group and individual goals.

Adjourning

Some members leave as they meet their goals, move on to different groups, or no longer benefit from the group.

Group structure

refers to the size, roles, norms, and cohesiveness.

Worker roles

include initiator, informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality tester.

Initiator

Takes the lead, volunteers first, tries to organize group.

Informer

Provides information on rules, date, or procedures.

Summarizer

Asks for simple conclusions or brief outlines of meetings, findings, findings or tasks.

Reality testers

Considers pragmatic aspects of ideas.

Maintenance roles

are important to the group because they help members commit to the group and stay involved.

Blocking roles

are disruptive to the group and include aggressor, blocker, dominator, comedian, and avoidance behaviors. These members resist group ideas, interrupt others, and can be manipulative.

Aggressor

Challenges the leader and other group members.

Blocker

Negative about other's ideas, resists group ideas.

Dominator

Takes over group, forces his or her ideas on group, does not listen.

Comedian

Makes jokes instead of getting work done, details conversations.

Avoidance behaviors

Manipulates direction of group, changes focus, interrupts process.