The Lived Experience of Homeless Mothers’ Participation in an OT Leisure Craft Group

PURPOSE: On any given evening, an estimated 553,742 individuals in the United States experience homelessness (Henry, Watt, Rosenthal, & Shivji, 2017). Homeless individuals face many challenges participating in meaningful, everyday occupations including lack of resources and overwhelming stress that negatively influences engagement in preferred activities (Roy et al., 2017). Homeless mothers would benefit greatly from OT services. There is a need to “identify, understand, and evaluate [OT] practices that are applied or applicable to the needs, desires, rights, and occupational characteristics of this population” (p. 2). Klitzing (2004) found that homeless women use leisure as a tool for coping with chronic stress but the opportunities for these activities is extremely limited. Engagement in leisure activities serves as an effective coping strategy to combat chronic stress (Griffiths & Corr, 2007). This investigation sought to answer: What was the lived experiences of homeless mothers participating in an occupational therapy leisure craft group?

DESIGN: This phenomenological investigation used semi-structured interviews to understand the experience of mothers, residing in a shelter, after participating in occupational therapy craft groups. Nine mothers, 21 to 54 years old, residing in an emergency shelter, were recruited to participate in the groups, held twice a week, at the shelter. Informed consent was obtained prior to participation. Sessions were offered by occupational therapy graduate students supervised by a professor with substantial experience at this shelter. Mothers received instruction and materials to create low-cost/no-cost craft items.

METHOD: After participating in several groups sessions, mothers were individually interviewed using a semi-structured guide. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a constant comparative method for themes. The research team members independently coded all transcripts and then created a code directory that underwent revisions during the analysis process. The final code directory was used to search for themes that emerged from the data analysis process. Saturation of data was obtained using the final code directory.

RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the interview data. Leisure participation and exploration emerged from coded material reflecting past experiences, current engagement and plans for future craft activities. The theme of perceived benefits emerged as mothers discussed psychosocial benefits of reduced stress, increased creativity and opportunities to engage in crafting with their children. The final theme of external factors reflected the shelter environment and the reality of being homeless that limits this occupational pursuit. All mothers reported the benefits of participating in the group while identifying the limitations in these opportunities while residing at the shelter.

CONCLUSIONS: This pilot investigation provides initial evidence of the self-identified benefits homeless mothers’ attributed to participating in an occupational therapy craft group using low-cost/no-cost materials.

IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapy services are underutilized with the homeless population and yet these professional services are beneficial. This underserved population would benefit from occupational therapy services and homeless mothers should be afforded these opportunities.

References

Griffiths, S., & Corr, S. (2007). The use of creative activities with people with mental health problems: A survey of occupational therapists. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(3), 107-114. https://doi.org/10.1177/030802260707000303

Henry, M., Watt, R., Rosenthal, L., & Shivji, A. (2017). The 2017 annual homeless assessment report (AHAR) to Congress: Part 1: Point-in-time estimates of homelessness. Washington, D.C.: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved from https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2017-AHAR-Part-1.pdf

Klitzing, S. W. (2004). Women living in a homeless shelter: Stress, coping and leisure. Journal of Leisure Research, 36(4), 483-512. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2004.11950033

Roy, L., Vallée, C., Kirsh, B. H., Marshall, C. A., Marval, R., & Low, A. (2017). Occupation-based practices and homelessness: A scoping review. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 84(2), 98-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008417416688709