Home Care Occupational Therapists Addressing Leisure Participation for Health and Well-Being

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how OTs practicing in Canadian home care programs address leisure participation challenges among older adult clients in small urban and rural settings. Using Interpretive Description principles (Thorne, 2016), this qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with home care OTs followed by a focus group to discuss and expand on initial findings. The study revealed that OTs engage in two interwoven processes: Paving the Way for Leisure and Addressing Leisure. Three unifying themes were identified: valuing leisure, creating opportunities for leisure participation and practicing covertly to navigate systemic constraints. The results provide novel information about how home care OTs address leisure, underscores its importance for clients’ health and well-being and validates the often unseen efforts of OTs who find time to address leisure. It also provides an example of how home care OTs are navigating neoliberal constraints as street-level bureaucrats to address leisure.