Abstract
In 2022, OTs at a health clinic used daily intake forms, compared with the list of somatic complaints from the 15-item Patient Health Questionnaire to identify and provide occupation-based interventions to facilitate engagement in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living for Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Primary Author and Speaker: Elizabeth Palmer
War in the Ukraine has led to 6.5 million refugees resettling globally (UNHCR, 2024). In 2022, this investigator traveled to Warsaw, Poland to volunteer at a health clinic in a 10,000-bed urban shelter for Ukrainian refugees. This study intended to identify the utility of OT services in an emergency health clinic set up in a shelter for Ukrainian refugees. The questions asked were ‘How can OT be beneficial in this environment? What OT interventions can address the needs of individuals and groups within this population?’ This study used exploratory and descriptive design methods including observations, interviews of health professionals, and interpreting trends on intake forms to formulate OT interventions. The clinic was free and available to all Ukrainian refugees at the shelter. OTs analyzed intake forms and compared patients’ health complaints to the list of somatic symptoms on the Patient Health Questionnaire 15: Physical Symptoms. Collaboration with OTs enabled the clinic team to identify five categories for which individuals sought treatment: respiratory and other infections, mental health complaints, somatic complaints related to stress and anxiety, chronic disease management, and injuries. Analysis of 147 forms revealed 94 complaints of pain, 23 other somatic complaints, and 17 complaints of stress, anxiety, and depression. Using the 5 categories of patient treatment, somatic symptoms, and mental health problems reported, OTs identified and provided occupation-based interventions at individual and group levels to facilitate stress reduction, provide individuals with a sense of control over their immediate environment, and enable participation in ADL and IADL activities that had been disrupted. By providing OT interventions on the front line of an acute humanitarian crisis, OTs continue to demonstrate our unique perspective and contributions to healthcare, and the importance of occupation and routine when individuals are faced with catastrophic loss.
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