A Century of Therapeutic Use of the Physical Environment

In this article, we describe the use of the objects and spaces of the physical environment by occupational therapy practitioners in the United States over the profession's first 100 years. Using professional literature selected by decade from the years 1917 through 2016 to obtain data, we appli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American journal of occupational therapy Vol. 71; no. 1; pp. 7101100030p1 - 7101100030p10
Main Authors Marshall, Amy, Myers, Christine, Pierce, Doris
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Occupational Therapy Association 01.01.2017
American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc
Subjects
Analysis
Cerebral Palsy
Coding
Community Relations
Comparative Analysis
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Grounded Theory
Health aspects
Independent Living
Mental Disorders
Occupational therapy
Patients
Physical Environment
School Districts
Maryland
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Summary:In this article, we describe the use of the objects and spaces of the physical environment by occupational therapy practitioners in the United States over the profession's first 100 years. Using professional literature selected by decade from the years 1917 through 2016 to obtain data, we applied grounded theory methods to complete a detailed description. Team-based analysis over four coding schemes yielded a theoretical description of the profession's therapeutic use of the physical environment. Study findings included descriptions across occupational therapy's history of (1) treatment spaces, (2) the concepts of adapting and grading, and (3) a typology of constructive and nonconstructive applications of objects and activities by occupational therapy clients and practitioners. This extended historical perspective on trajectories of change in intervention space, the role of physical products in intervention, therapist repertoire, and the enduring role of adaptation suggests how the physical environment may be used in future practice.
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ISSN:0272-9490
1943-7676
DOI:10.5014/ajot.2017.023960