Doctoral Degrees (Occupational Therapy)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Occupational Therapy) by Subject "Occupational therapy"

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    A critical ethnography of the Vona du Toit Creative Ability Model (VdTMoCA) in the South African occupational therapy context
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Zelda, Coetzee; van Niekerk, Lana; Duncan, Eve; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Occupational Therapy.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Background: The Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability (VdTMoCA) influenced South African occupational therapy education and practice for over 40 years. Limited empirical evidence for the Model exists. A first study verified the original levels of Creative Ability in 2010. Philosophical assumptions underpinning the Model are not known, nor whether they align with the original assumptions. Increasing utility of the Model warrants verification for practitioners to practice confidently when using the VdTMoCA. With little empirical evidence, the Model may resemble a sacred text. Methods: Critical ethnographic methodology was chosen to elicit critical encultured interpretations about the ontological, epistemological, methodological and axiological philosophical assumptions underpinning the VdTMoCA for three generations of occupational therapists: the Progenitor, first- and second-generation respondents. First-and secondgeneration respondents were selected by criterion sampling. Collected data included original academic documents, ethnographic interviewing and observations. Data was analysed inductively, deductively and across cases using five levels of analysis. Findings: Three themes describing the creative ability mindset emerged: “humans and their reality”, “creative ability and practice” and “application [of creative ability] in occupational therapy”. The findings show intergenerational agreement with the Progenitor’s original philosophical assumptions about the Model when used with persons with a medical condition, accessing a Westernized healthcare service context. Outliers arose when the Model was interpreted in its original form for community living where different cultures and unequal resources are present. Conclusions: Findings suggest philosophical and theoretical expansions of the VdTMoCA to include how creative ability is/can be developed for practice in naturalistic contexts. Specifically, the assumption that “motivation to do”, a patterned motivational response, arises not only between people (P) and their occupations(O) but is also stimulated from the relationship with contexts(C). Therefore, motivational factors present in naturalistic contexts must form part of the motivational dimension (P0C) for intervention.
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    Occupational resilience : an occupational therapy practice model facilitating high school participation post traumatic brain injury
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Jacobs-Nzuzi Khuabi, Lee-Ann Juliana; Swart, Estelle; Soeker, Mogammad Shaheed; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. Occupational Therapy.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : School participation may be disrupted post traumatic brain injury (TBI). Adolescents have to adjust to their developmental stage, multiple impairments and increased dependence resulting from the TBI. This combined with contextual factors may affect their school participation post TBI. There are no clear occupational therapy guidelines facilitating school re-entry post TBI and hence inconsistencies are noted in school transition practices. Furthermore, existing school transition programs for learners with TBI are informed by the recommendations of studies conducted in developed contexts. This study therefore sought to explore the perspectives on and experiences of adolescent high school learners’ school re-entry and school participation post TBI within a developing context. It was anticipated that this would provide an improved understanding of the enablers and barriers to high school participation post TBI. The main aim of this study was to develop a practice model with a view to improve service delivery that aims to adequately prepare and support learners for high school participation post TBI. The first phase of the study included a qualitative multi-case study. Each of the eight cases consisted of an adolescent learner, his/her primary care-giver, teacher and principal. Data collection methods included document analysis, semi-structured interviews and semi-structured observation. Analysis included an inductive process, combined with cross case synthesis. The findings indicated that personal, multi-system environmental and occupational factors served as both enablers and barriers to school re-entry and school participation post TBI. Learners reported that to overcome occupational challenges and participate in the occupation of school, required a process of adaptation (i.e. adapting for and through occupation). This process of adaptation required that learners draw upon internal resources as well as navigate and negotiate the availability and accessibility of personally and culturally relevant external resources. That is, it required a display of resilience from learners. A theory generative design promoted by Chinn and Kramer (2015) and Walker and Avant (2015), was used to conduct the second phase of the study. This included an analysis of the concept of occupational resilience that was uncovered in the first phase of the study. The second phase of the study further included the construction of relationship statements; a description of the model as well as the evaluation and operationalization of the model, i.e. Occupational Resilience: An Occupational Therapy practice model to facilitate high school participation post TBI. The practice model highlights that occupational therapists may promote resilience to facilitate the participation in valued occupation (i.e. promote occupational resilience). Occupational resilience may be facilitated through a series of resilience-promoting tasks that include cultivating resilience thinking, developing and employing strategies to overcome occupational challenges, engagement in occupation and fostering an enabling environment. The model further highlights that throughout the process of facilitating occupational resilience, it is necessary to create opportunities for the adolescent to display agency. The thesis concludes with recommendations for occupational therapy practice and education. Further recommendations to the Departments of Health and Education as well as the Road Accident Fund were explicated to facilitate optimum support provision for adolescent learners with TBI.