Analysis of Occupation
from Multicultural
Aspect
Karin Lilienberg,
exchange lecturer
Tallinn Health College,
Estonia
Riga 2006
Culture
State of manners, taste and intellectual
development at a time or place
 Customs
 Achievements
 Products
 Outlook
 Hygiene, nutrition, exercise
Culture
Leadership in the family
 Attitudes towards work
 Values, roles
 Issue of language
 Differing etnicity
 Health beliefs and practices

Multicultural
– More than one culture
– Supporting integration of people of
different countries, ethnic groups,
and religions into all areas of society
Occupation
– Daily performance of purposeful
activities
– Includes activities that are playful,
restful, serious, and productive
– Reflects the unique characteristics
(beliefs, preferences, experiences,
environments, the specific patterns of
behaviours) of the person
– Have some degree of personal
meaning
Occupation
– A group of activities that has
personal and sociocultural meaning,
is named within a culture and
supports participation in society.
– Occupations can be categorized as
self-care, productivity and/ or leisure
Occupation
- Occupying or being occupied
- what occupies one, means of filling up
one’s time, temporary or regular
employment, business, calling, pursuit
- refers to all purposeful human activity
Wilcock (1998)
Occupation
• Generic term encompassing
all aspects of a person’s
engagement in roles,
processes, activities or tasks
in the course of daily life
Hagedorn (1995)
Activity
• The execution of a structured
series of tasks that
contributes to occupations
(http://www.enothe.hva.nl)
Purposeful activity



Have personal meaning combined
with a goal-directed quality
Involve active engagement that
meets personal goals or needs
Therapeutic, purposeful activities are
used to evaluate, facilitate, restore or
maintain an individual's abilities to
meet demands in his or her life to
engage in occupations
Meaning
Entire interpretive process in which an
individual engages
Figuring things out or making sense
out
Depends on the interaction of the
person's developmental structure
and occupational form
Purpose
• Experience of wanting an outcome to
result from occupational performance
• Link between meaning,
developmental structure, and
occupational performance
(Nelson 1994:23)
Task

1.
2.
A series of structured steps
(actions and/or thoughts) intended
to accomplish a specific goal. This
goal could either be:
The performance of an activity or
A piece of work the individual is
expected to do
(http://www.enothe.hva.nl)
Function
• The underlying physical and
psychological components that
support occupational performance
• The capacity to use occupational
performance components to carry
out a task, activity or occupation
(http://www.enothe.hva.nl)
Connection between occupation,
activity, action and function

Life course repertoire of
occupations


Activity


To have a breakfast
Action


Maintenance (self-care), productivity
(work, play), rest/ free time (leisure)
To drink coffee
Function / operation

To grip the cup
PLAY
DIGGING
TUNNELS
WETTING
THE
BRUSH
CHOOSING
THE COLOR
PAINTING
WATERCOLOURS
SPREADING
THE GROUND
COLOR TO
PAPER
HOLDING
THE
BRUSH
OCCUPATION
DANCING
PLANNING
THE
PICTURES
SITTING
IN A
CHAIR
PLAYING
WITH
DOLLS
PAINTING
THE
PICTURES
SEEING
THE
COLOURS
ACTIVITY
ACTION
FUNCTION
Occupational analysis
Hagerdorn (1997) describes
occupational analysis as the ability
to "understand the nature of an
individual's participation and
performance and what it means to
him”
(focused on the person as doer)
Occupational analysis
Understanding the nature of the
occupation, activity or task.
(focused on the thing to be done).
Requirements to
occupational analysis







Participation analysis
existential analysis
performance analysis
occupational analysis
activity analysis
task analysis
applied analysis
Hagedorn (1997)
Concepts connected to
activity analysis

Assessment:


Process that is based on the
knowledge about client
Analysis

Logical, reductive process in the
course of which something is
minutely examined and broken
down into simple components
Activity analysis

Basic analysis



Demand analysis


Describes part of an occupation
What is done, the order in which it is done and
the essential tools and materials
describes the demand which the task or activity
places on the participant
Applied analysis
Considers the potential remedial benefits and
application for a specific condition or particular
individual and how the task or activity might be
adapted to promote or enhance performance
Task – focused
activity analysis

Step 1
Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5








Step 6
Step 7



Step 8

Describe the activity
Describe the typical age range of people
who are engaged in this activity
Describe the environmental aspects of
the performance context
List supplies and equipment needed to
carry out the activity
Describe the safety hazards inherent in
this activity
List the sequential steps of the activity
What performance components are
needed for the activity
Grading and adapting activity
Client-centered analysis
1.
2.
3.
4.
analysis of an occupational history
analysis of patterns of participation
analysis of performance demands and
ability to respond
analysis of interests
Analysis of patterns of
participation
• participation analysis
– interests and patterns of engagement
• routine or habit analysis
– degree of flexibility or rigid of such patterns
References:
• www.enothe.hva.nl
• Hagedorn, R. 2000. Tools for
Practice in Occupational
Therapy: A Structured
Approach to Core Skills.
Churchill Livingstone.