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Evaluation of an occupation‐based, mental‐health program: Meeting being, belonging and becoming needs
Author(s) -
Rebeiro Gruhl Karen L.,
Boucher Martin,
Lacarte Sara
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/1440-1630.12707
Subject(s) - mental health , scale (ratio) , descriptive statistics , psychology , ordered logit , logistic regression , gerontology , medicine , geography , psychiatry , statistics , cartography , mathematics , machine learning , computer science
Being, belonging and becoming are important theoretical constructs for occupational scientists and therapists, and for members of Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA), located in northern Ontario, Canada. Collaborative research with service users guided the development of NISA and its evaluation tool: the 3B~S Scale. The aim of this paper is to share the results of the 2018 program evaluation. Methods 113 participants completed a questionnaire consisting of the 3B~S Scale, demographic and program satisfaction questions, and open‐ended questions. Quantitative analysis used descriptive statistics followed by ordinal logistic regression to determine the intersectional effects of gender, race and age on becoming and system impact outcomes. Open‐ended responses were analysed thematically and triangulated with quantitative findings. Results Participants agreed‐to‐strongly agreed that the program met their 3B needs ( x = 4.20, SD = 0.24). Participants indicated strong satisfaction with the program ( x = 4.38, SD = 0.66), and agreement that participating in the program reduced their reliance on other system‐based services ( x = 3.96, SD = 0.24). The regression revealed no significant differences in gender, race or age in predicting six of 10 outcomes examined; race was not significant for any outcome. Younger females were more likely to agree that the work they do is part of a larger community charitable purpose, the program is helping them to achieve their goals, and is increasing their involvement in community. Younger participants were more likely to agree that participation facilitated a return to school or employment than older participants. Conclusions Occupation‐based, mental health programs that address participants' being, belonging and becoming needs can contribute to improvements in perceived mental health and well‐being, as well as to improved community and system usage outcomes. The NISA model provides a framework for clinically operationalising the 3B's and may provide a unique contribution to ongoing theoretical discussions of these constructs within occupational therapy and science.