Women With Disabilities� Experiences in Long-Term Care: A Case for Social Justice

• Autores: Susan Magasi, Joy Hammel
• Localización: American Journal of Occupational Therapy, ISSN 0272-9490, Vol. 63, Nº. 1, 2009, págs. 35-45
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to explore women with disabilities� perceptions of their lived experiences in nursing homes.

    METHOD. This 16-month ethnography used multiple qualitative methods, including participant observations, thematic qualitative interviews, and focus groups, to examine the perceptions of life in nursing home for 6 women with disabilities who had returned to community living and their significant others (n = 13).

    RESULTS. Nursing homes were living situations of last resort for women with disabilities. Life in the nursing home was characterized by lost choice, control, and occupational engagement; social isolation; social control; the political economy of the nursing home; and active resistance.

    DISCUSSION. Occupational therapy practitioners practicing from a social justice paradigm have a responsibility to ensure that client goals to live in the least restrictive environments possible are realized. Implications for long-term-care referral practices, advocacy-based interventions, and partnership with the disability community are discussed