Resources search

Associations between occupational and social interaction factors and well-being among people with psychiatric disabilities living in supported housing in Sweden

EKLUND, Mona
TJÖRNSTRAND, Carina
2019

Expand view

Research indicates that occupation is important for well-being in people with mental illness, but this has not been extensively studied among those with severe psychiatric disabilities. Social contacts may possibly play a more vital role for them. This study aimed to explore how aspects of occupation and social interaction were related with well-being factors in that group, while controlling for the influence of clinical factors. People with psychiatric disabilities living in congregate supported housing (CSH; N = 155) responded to questionnaires addressing occupation, social contacts and well-being aspects, such as subjective health, quality of life, self-mastery, and personal recovery. A comparison group with psychiatric disabilities who lived in an ordinary flat or house and received outreach housing support (N=111) completed the same instruments. The two groups were compared regarding their pattern of associations between occupation, social contacts, and well-being. Associations between occupation and well-being in the CSH group showed that general satisfaction with everyday occupations in particular was related to all aspects of well-being, whereas activity level and occupational balance were not related to well-being. The relationships were fewer and weaker, in comparison to the group in ordinary housing with outreach support. Indicators of social contacts were basically unrelated to well-being. The study contributes to occupational science by showing that the role of a high activity level for well-being, although important, should not be overemphasized. Future research should focus on narratives to get the voices of people residing in CSH and on exploration of how individually/socially performed occupations are associated with well-being.

Identifying and validating housing adaptation client profiles – a mixed methods study

LUTHER, Anna
CHIATTI, Carlos
EKSTAM, Lisa
THORDARDOTTIR, Bjorg
MALMGREN FANGE, Agneta
February 2019

Expand view

Purpose: An increasing number of people will live with disabilities in their homes and consequently, the need for home-based interventions will increase. Housing adaptations (HAs) are modifications to the physical home environment with the purpose to enhance independence for a heterogeneous group of people. Increasing the knowledge of the characteristics of HA clients by exploring their heterogeneity, could facilitate the planning of interventions and allocation of resources. The purpose of this article was to identify and validate HA client profiles.

 

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study applied a mixed methods design to identify profiles of HA clients through cluster analysis confirmed by qualitative interview data. The sample consists of 241 HA clients in Sweden with a mean age of 75.1 years.

 

Results: A classification into five groups emerged as the one best describing the heterogeneity of characteristics among this sample of clients. Five client profiles were outlined based on their age and level of disability, and the variation between the profiles was confirmed through the qualitative interview data.

 

Conclusions: The identified client profiles are a step towards a better understanding of how home-based interventions could be delivered more effectively to groups of HA clients, based on their different characteristics.

E-bulletin