Les EHPAD sont des micro-communautés : comment une pratique communautaire de l’ergothérapie permet de promouvoir la santé et le bien-être des résidents

Summary :

Older adults, and more specifically nursing home residents, are a vulnerable and marginalised population in the Western productive society. This opinion piece discusses the value of moving beyond the individual perspective to adopt a community-centred lens to understand the structural consequences of the institutional setting on the residents’ occupational engagement. The community theoretical framework provides an understanding of the tight connection between a healthy community and occupation. Thus, the systematic shortcomings of the nursing home environment in terms of social interactions and its detrimental consequences can be read as the visible symptom of the occupational barriers experienced by nursing home residents. Indeed, the unique combination of the biomedical framework, which shapes the institutional environment, and the ageist prejudices systematically impede mean­ingful occupational engagement for older adults living in nursing homes. Thus, given their unique understanding of occupation, occupational therapists must advocate for a culture change and position themselves as key professionals to counter the structural occupational injustices at the community level. While the literature acknowledges the need to develop evidence from the field, the existing theoretical framework provides a reliable support to underpin professional practice in reinforcing the relationship between individuals and their communities through collective occupation. And thus, through the development of healthy nursing home communities promoting health and well-being in nursing home residents.

Article rédigé par :

• 

  Céline Bor

  Ergothérapeute
  Étudiante en Master
  (Msc of Advanced Occupational Therapy,
  Derby University)
  bor.celine@hotmail.fr