CONCEPTS OF ACTIVITY, OCCUPATION AND EVERYDAY LIFE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY, CONDUCTED WITH OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY UNDERGRADUATES

Abstract

Introduction: Although activity, everyday life and occupation are central objects of the Brazilian Occupational Therapy, there is little conceptual consistency on these themes in the literature. However, different psychological theories about concepts can bring a diversity of understandings on this issue. Aim: To investigate the understanding of Occupational Therapy undergraduates, on the concepts of activity, occupation, and everyday life. Method: In this qualitative study, a word association test was applied to 45 senior undergraduates of an Occupational Therapy course and the results were subjected to content analysis. Results: Participants related activity to Occupational Therapy practice using terms such as resource, instrument, objective, adaptation, and analysis. Occupation was associated with terms such as work, roles, and participation. As for everyday life, the (daily) routine and organization/repetition categories were frequently found. Cross-citation of concepts and co-occurrence of some categories, such as examples of activities, doing, and activities of daily living were also observed. Discussion: From a theoretical view of concepts, this study discusses that activity, occupation, and everyday life are interrelated in the undergraduates’ conceptual networks, and their perspectives indicate a plurality of influences from the Occupational Therapy literature. Findings corroborate those reported in other inquiries, suggesting the perception of subtleties that simultaneously associate and differentiate such concepts. Conclusion: There is consistency in the way undergraduates distinguish and relate the concepts investigated; in contrast, the need to explain the different connotations that these concepts can assume according to different theoretical frameworks is highlighted.