Article

Home modifications are part of the occupational therapy interventions provided to
persons with functional limitations in the home environment. Home modification
services often involve many different actors, and persons experiencing a need for
home modifications have to navigate through a network of service organizations
and professional actors.
The aim of this study was to explore and describe how
older adults in one Swedish municipality tried to find their way and navigate
through the service system in order to receive home modification services that
could meet their experienced needs. A case study design was used, including four
older adults with different experiences and expectations of home modification
services. The relationship between the participants' expectations, experiences,
and their ways to navigate through the service system was described through the
metaphor of a "geographical map". Satisfaction with the service process was found
when there was a match in understandings of responsibilities and eligibility
between what could be read from the older persons' map and the professionals'
perspective. The findings have implications for client-centred occupational
therapy practice, indicating that this match can be achieved when professionals
translate clients' experienced problems in everyday life into a terminology that
fits into the service system.

Langue : ANGLAIS