Audrey Yong is working on the following research projects related to home environment designing, with an emphasis on a humanistic and empathic perspective.
The word 'home', derived from the Old Norse 'heima', describes a state of being as well as a physical place... a place of intimacy, comfort and privacy.
In modern life, the home is for many of us, the last bastion of the senses; not just in providing a roof over our heads but our emotional heartland, a place where the rhythm of events is under our control and we involve all our senses to restore the delicate balance between mind and body... and to regain our equilibrium...
Ilse Crawford, The Sensual Home
PROJECT 1: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH STUDY
Working Title: The occupational Therapy contribution to good home environment design to support the participation and wellbeing of people with intellectual disabilities
A research project, interviewing occupational therapists working nationally in the field about their knowledge, skills and experience in relation to home environment and the designing of homes. The research is being conducted collaboratively with Stuart Heaton, a colleague in clinical practice and Team Springwell, a group of experts with lifelong experience of learning disability and complex physical and mental health needs.
This research is supported by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Research Foundation.
Output
May 2024 - Contribution to conference: poster presentation
Yong A (2024). A Collaborative Research Journey with Experts-by-Experience (EbE) on: The Occupational Therapy Contribution to Good Home Environment Design for People with Intellectual Disabilities. University of Brighton, EDI in Research Conference, 21 May 2024, Brighton.
PROJECT 2: CASE STUDY RESEARCH
Working Title: Enabling Change and Home Participation for an Individual with Intellectual Disability: A Case Study in Complex Occupational Therapy Practice
This case study research is being written in collaboration with Dr. David Haines and Alice Harland, a clinical specialist Occupational therapist working in a Specialist Community Disability Service. The study is an illuminative case study research on the occupational therapy intervention of a complex case. To support an occupational perspective, the study draws on Pentland et al.’s (2018) model, which describes occupational therapy as a complex practice involving dynamic shifts in response to individual and contextual needs to frame the findings from this case study research.
PROJECT 3: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Working Title: A review of the evidence supporting the occupational therapy contribution to humanistic (and sensory-related) home environment designing.
This review will collate the evidence from multi-professional literature to support the potential for occupational therapy contribution to humanistic and sensory-related home designing, using the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance (CanMOP) (Egan & Restall, 2022), as an occupational therapy lens.
REFERENCES:
Egan M and Restall G (Eds.)(2022). Promoting Occupational Participation: Collaborative Relationship-focused Occupational Therapy: 10th Canadian Occupational Therapy Guidelines. Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.
Pentland D, Kantartzis S and Giatsi Clausen M (2018). Occupational Therapy and Complexity: Defining and Describing Practice. London: Royal College of Occupational Therapists.