Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Oral Presentation/Poster
Degree Name
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Moses Ikiugu
Keywords
Health and well-being, people experiencing homelessness, occupational therapy, meaningful occupations
Subject Categories
Occupational Therapy
Abstract
Individuals experiencing homelessness face a variety of barriers to occupational performance and participation, thereby negatively impacting their quality of life, health, and well-being. Occupational therapists are uniquely qualified to address the health and well-being needs of individuals experiencing homelessness due to their holistic client-centered approach, their efforts in promoting occupational participation, and providing opportunities for occupational empowerment. Occupational therapy with this population is a growing area of practice, and there is a lack of literature focusing on interventions related to meaningful occupations. My capstone project aimed to create a meaningful occupation-based program for individuals experiencing homelessness at a drop-in day homeless shelter to improve their perceived health and well-being. The literature and needs assessment indicated a need for an occupation-based program within this population. Utilizing principles and assessments from occupational therapy models and frameworks, I created a seven-module program that emphasized the participants’ meaningful occupations. I used the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Occupational Circumstances Assessment and Interview Rating Scale, the New General Self-Efficacy Scale and a Post Module Satisfaction Questionnaire I created to assess participant occupational performance, satisfaction in occupational performance, occupational participation, perceived self-efficacy, and their general experience throughout the program respectively.
Twelve individuals attended twice weekly intervention sessions for the program across nine weeks. Statistical analysis indicated a significant improvement in occupational performance, satisfaction in occupational performance, and occupational participation. These findings imply that occupational therapy programming based on meaningful occupations is beneficial for the perceived health and well-being of people experiencing homelessness.
Recommended Citation
Overgaard, Annika, "A Program Based on Meaningful Occupations to Improve Perceived Health and Well-being for People Experiencing Homelessness" (2024). Occupational Therapy Capstone Presentations. 135.
https://red.library.usd.edu/ot-capstone/135