Building Families' Capacities: Community Forums with Parents and Occupational Therapists. (June 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Grandisson, Marie; Martin-Roy, Sarah; Marcotte, Justine; Milot, Élise; Girard, Rébecca; Jasmin, Emmanuelle; Fauteux, Cynthia; Bergeron, Julie
• Is Part Of: Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Volume 90:Number 2(2023)
• Page Start: 197
• Page End: 207
• Publication Date: 2023-06
• Subjects: Occupational therapy -- Children with special needs -- Children with disability -- Family-centered -- Capacity building; Approche axée sur la famille -- enfants avec besoins particuliers -- enfants ayant un handicap -- ergothérapie -- renforcement des capacités; Occupational therapy -- Canada -- Periodicals; Physical therapy -- Canada -- Periodicals; Therapeutics, Physiological -- Canada -- Periodicals; 615.8515
• DOI: 10.1177/00084174231160972
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-4174

Abstract

Background. Parents of a child considered to have special needs are at greater risk of stress and exhaustion. Although many occupational therapy interventions can help these children, they often require significant time and energy from families.Purpose. To document the perspectives of parents and occupational therapists regarding ways to offer services that help build families' capacities without overloading them.Method. A qualitative descriptive design guided online community forums with 41 parents and occupational therapists in Quebec, Canada.Findings. Nine key principles to build the capacities of families without overburdening them were identified. These include being sensitive to possible negative impacts of services, avoiding overwhelming the family with information or recommendations, taking the needed time, highlighting the positive, and offering flexible conditions for services.Implications. Our findings help identify how capacity-building rehabilitation services can be offered to families to optimize positive outcomes and minimize harms.