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- Carlsson, Gunilla, et al.
(author)
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A hundred days in confinement : Doing, being, becoming, and belonging among older people in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2022
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In: Journal of Occupational Science. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1442-7591 .- 2158-1576. ; 29:3, s. 402-416
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: When and how people were able to engage in everyday occupations changed suddenly with the coronavirus pandemic. Defined as a risk group due to their age, people 70 years and older in Sweden experienced confinement, as did older adults globally. Aim: To explore how doing, being, becoming, and belonging as dimensions of occupation were manifested in the lives of Swedish people 70 years or older, 100 days into the coronavirus pandemic. Method: Data were elicited through semi-structured interviews with 17 participants (11 women, 6 six men, mean age 76 years), living in ordinary housing in Sweden. Interviews were conducted in June 2020 as part of a larger longitudinal research project. A directed content analysis approach was used to analyse the data based on the occupational dimensions of doing, being, becoming, and belonging. Results: After 100 days of confinement, daily occupations had been changed, and habits and routines disrupted. However, the need to engage in occupations was strong. Participants expressed how they adapted their occupations to the restrictions, but also how their doing affected their well-being, further development, and opportunities for social interactions. Conclusion: The participants, who were older people without any specific diagnosis, reflected upon their daily occupations during an unrehearsed natural experiment when, more than anything else, the social environmental circumstances changed. The analysis elucidates how doing, being, becoming, and belonging is embedded in people’s lives. The study can serve as a foundation to further research on understanding people’s individual needs as occupational beings.
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| 2. |
- Carlsson, Gunilla, et al.
(author)
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Exploration of a Web-based accessibility tool for public facilities
- 2023
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In: Facilities. - 0263-2772. ; 41:15/16, s. 66-84
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – This study aims to explore how an accessibility database (AD) has been developed and implemented as a tool for facility managers to evaluate and increase the accessibility of public facilities.Design/methodology/approach – Eight participants were strategically sampled for semi-structured interviews, and documents on the AD were gathered. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used for a directed content analysis of the data. The CFIR domains used for the analysis were: intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals and process.Findings – The development and implementation of the AD demonstrated the complexity in assessing and planning for increased accessibility. The communication and iterative processes within the inner as well as with the outer setting was an important part of the development and implementation, as well as anchoringeach step locally, regionally and nationally, within public authorities and disability organizations.Practical implications – The assessments of environmental barriers and the results reported in the AD can serve as a guide for identification of accessibility issues. However, singular identified barriers were reported as a fragmentation of the building regulations, and thereby when retrofitting is carried out, experts who have the competence to suggest solutions based on the entirety need to be involved to reach the goals of increased accessibility and countering of exclusion and discrimination.Originality/value – By structuring the implementation process by means of the CFIR, facilitators and barriers of using an AD as a basis for retrofitting were revealed. The practical challenges outlined in assessing and increasing accessibility can guide facility managers when considering actions to increase accessibility.
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| 3. |
- Fristedt, Sofi, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Changes in daily life and wellbeing in adults, 70 years and older, in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1103-8128 .- 1651-2014. ; 29:6, s. 511-521
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swedish authorities enforced specific recommendations on social distancing for adults 70 years and older (70+). Day-to-day life changed for 15% of the Swedish population. The aim of the study was to explore how adults 70+ experienced and managed changes in everyday life due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how those changes affected wellbeing at the beginning of the virus outbreak.METHODS: Eleven women and six men, (mean age 76 years), living in ordinary housing, participated in remote semi-structured interviews in April 2020. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis.FINDINGS: The theme Suddenly at risk - '…but it could have been worse' included four categories My world closed down; Negotiations, adaptations and prioritizations to manage staying at home; Barriers and facilitators to sustain occupational participation; and Considerations of my own and other's health and wellbeing emerged from the data analysis.CONCLUSION: Everyday life changes had implications for health and well-being. The participants questioned previous conceptions of meaning in relation to habitual activities, likely leading to consistent occupational changes. However, these long-term effects remain to be explored, and considered to enable older adult's health during the pandemic and beyond.
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| 4. |
- Fristedt, Sofi, et al.
(author)
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Suddenly at risk: Older adults’ changes in everyday life early on during the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2022
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ABSTRACT:Introduction / Rationale: From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing was recommended for adults 70 years and older (70+) in Sweden. From an outside view, they then became deprived of possibilities to engage in meaningful activities. However, as meaning is highly subjective, we need to listen to older adults’ voices to really know.Objectives: To explore how adults 70+ experienced and managed changes in everyday life due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how those changes affected wellbeing at the beginning of the virus outbreak.Method / Approach: Eleven women and six men, (mean age 76 years), living in ordinary housing, participated in remote semi-structured interviews in April and June 2020. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis.Results: An overall theme Suddenly at risk – “…but it could have been worse” and four categories emerged from the data analysis. The participants had to accept some changes summarized in the first category; my world closed down. They described continuous negotiations, adaptations and prioritizations to manage staying at home in the second category, but they also experienced contextual barriers and facilitators to sustain occupational participation as the third category elucidate, where e.g. the shift of seasons facilitated social activities. Their experiences of health and wellbeing varied and are captured in the fourth category, considerations about my own and other’s health and wellbeing.Conclusion: The participants questioned previous conceptions of meaning in relation to habitual activities, likely leading to consistent occupational changes, potentially affecting health and well-bring also beyond the pandemic.
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| 5. |
- Granbom, Marianne, et al.
(author)
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'Normality in all the abnormality' : Older adults' experiences of holidays and celebrations from the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2024
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In: Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1440-1630 .- 0045-0766.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: The importance of holidays, traditions, and family celebrations to human culture and occupational engagement has been neglected. The aim of this study was to explore how older adults experienced holidays and celebrations with social and physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS: A secondary analysis was made on data from the At-Risk Study. Seventeen community-living adults (11 women and 6 men) aged 71-87 years, from Sweden participated. They were interviewed remotely four times during the first year of the pandemic. Data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. No consumer/community involvement occurred.FINDINGS: Three categories on how the participants hoped for, planned, decided, adapted, avoided, and experienced holidays and celebrations with social and physical distancing included expectations and preparations in unpredictable times; the constant need for re-evaluation; and almost everything turned out differently.CONCLUSIONS: The desire to celebrate despite pandemic restrictions shows the importance and meaning holidays hold for older adults. Celebrations can be disrupted for many reasons, not only as extreme as the ongoing pandemic. For wellbeing in later life health care, social care, and society need to understand the inherent components and acknowledge ways of supporting participation in occasional events such as holidays, traditions, and family celebrations.
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| 10. |
- Slaug, Björn, et al.
(author)
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Public entrance accessibility : Psychometric approach to the development of a new assessment instrument
- 2019
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In: Disability and Health Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1936-6574. ; 12:3, s. 473-480
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The accessibility of public facilities for all is an issue increasingly gaining focus in policy debates, especially regarding the ageing population. Objective: This paper describes a psychometric approach to the development of a new instrument for assessing the accessibility of public entrances. Methods: Items to include were selected by means of literature review and classified according to a typology of person-environment fit that uses the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as theoretical framework. Content validity was assessed by a scientific panel approach and construct validity by using simulation techniques and correlation analysis with a related construct. Reliability was evaluated by inter-rater agreement analysis, where 15 strategically selected public entrances were assessed by five rater pairs. Results: Content validity was assessed as high (3.6 on a scale from 1 to 4) and correlation indicating convergent validity between instrument scores and a related construct was moderate (r s = 0.60, p < 0.001). Inter-rater reliability was acceptable to good (kappa 0.42, overall agreement 81%). After an iterative process including review of validity and reliability results, the resulting assessment instrument consisted of 56 items in 7 sections. Conclusions: This study demonstrated good content validity and acceptable to good inter-rater reliability. Though initial results were promising, user involvement and further testing of construct validity is needed. The goal of the new instrument is a feasible tool for planning, evaluation and accomplishment of policies intended to make public entrances accessible for all. The extent to which the instrument succeeds remains to be tested by practical use.
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