Research Question Using community-based research to explore common - - PDF document

10/30/2012 1 Using community-based research to explore common language and shared identity in the TR profession in British Columbia, Canada

Kellie Duckworth, BTR, CTRS Sheri Keller, BARA Brenda Kinch, BTR, CTRS Colleen Reid, PhD

Research Question

What are the common language and shared identity of diverse recreation therapists in British Columbia?

Rationale

• Values and philosophies of TR (Wozencroft et al., 2009; Skalko,

2009; Iwasaki et al., 2010; Carruthers & Hood, 2007)

• Basic human values (Schwartz, 2005)
• Increasing professionalization of TR (Adams et al., 2008;

Sylvester, 2002)

• “Generative professionalism” (Alsbury, 2010)

Evidence Practice

“If we want more evidence-based practice, we need more practice-based evidence” (Green & Glasgow, 2006).

Evidence-based practice Practice-based evidence

10/30/2012 2 Community-based Research (CBR)

... is research undertaken in partnership with community groups conducted with shared responsibility for identifying research problems, developing methods and applications, analyzing data and shared ownership

• f products.... [CBR has] an explicit goal of developing

individual and group capacity, ultimately to affect change (Community Based Research in Canadian Community Colleges and Institutions: A

National Survey, 2008).

Research Methods

• Ethics approval and informed consent
• Data collection
• 84 fully completed surveys (surveymonkey.com)
• 4 pages long, open- and close-ended questions
• Data analysis
• Close-ended responses – frequency tables
• Open-ended responses – coded descriptively

Research Participants

• Purposeful & snowball sampling
• Participants recruited through BCTRA list serve,

CTRA 2011, word of mouth

• Sample
• 84 total
• 68% lived in Metro Vancouver
• 83% had more than 4 years work experience in TR
• 46% held an undergraduate degree; 16% held a

graduate degree

Research Participants

10/30/2012 3 Research Findings

• 1. Therapeutic recreation in BC
• 2. The language of TR
• 3. Recreation therapists’ identity and values

Therapeutic recreation in BC

There was a greater range of job titles with fewer years work experience and more consistency in job titles (with manager, supervisor) with more years experience

Therapeutic recreation in BC

Majority of respondents with bachelor degree – fewer than 11 years experience Majority of participants with diplomas – greater than 14 years experience

The language of TR

“In your own words, how do you describe TR to someone who has never heard of it before?” Codebook:

• 1. Population served
• 2. TR processes (assessment, implementation,

evaluation, purposeful intervention, etc)

• 3. Purpose of TR (recreation as therapy or recreation as

activity)

10/30/2012 4 The language of TR

75% of respondents mentioned recreation and leisure as “therapy” “TR uses recreation as a treatment modality to help a person improve aspects of his/her health” “Purposeful planned recreation interventions chosen to bring about a specific health or wellness outcome” 21% of respondents mentioned recreation as “activity”

The language of TR

Preferred Job Title Percentage Description

Recreation therapist 60%

• More clinical
• Involved assessment
• Required a degree

Therapeutic recreation practitioner 22%

• Hands-on
• Did not involve

assessment

• Required a diploma

Therapeutic recreation specialist 12%

• CTRS certification
• Newer and less

familiar

RT identity and values

“What is it that you identify in yourself that makes you an RT/TRP/TRS?” “What values do you hold that help you in your work in the field of TR?

RT identity

Theme Representative quotations Knowledge (41)

“getting my degree in TR” “using therapeutic programs to create change within the individual” “vast knowledge of benefits of leisure and recreation participation”

Desire to help others (30)

“commitment to support and advocate for my clients” “be helpful… being supportive” “love of people, compassion, and ability to engage”

10/30/2012 5 RT identity

Theme Representative quotations Passion for leisure and the TR profession (30)

“passion for the field of RT” “belief in the value of leisure” “[I am] someone who walks the talk in participating in all domains of leisure”

Holistic, person- centred and strengths- based approach (16)

“seeing the person as a whole” “looks at big picture, identifies individual’s strengths and abilities” “I maintain their [clients’] dignity by setting them up for success. I give choices with boundaries to enable positive results”

RT values

TR Value Data fre- quency Key words from research participants

Self- determination

57 choice, autonomy, freedom, respect for diversity, individuality, uniqueness, intuition, human potential, strengths-based, self-determination, hope, optimism

Benevolence

53 relationships, empathy, kindness, care, compassion, helpfulness, attentiveness, love, understanding, support

Inclusion & rights

43 fairness, equality, inclusion, open-mindedness, empowerment, right to quality of life and leisure, advocacy

Achievement & professionalism

31 discipline, knowledge, skills, education, professionalism, ethics, quality, commitment, motivation, organization, efficiency, leadership, assertiveness, critical thinking, accountability

Leisure & pleasure

20 humour, fun, leisure, recreation, benefits, balance, wellness

Integrity

19 honesty, integrity, trust

Implications & recommendations

• 1. Bring consistency to the language of TR
• 2. Adopt community-based research approaches to

generate practice-based evidence

• 3. Apply a strengths-based perspective to build the TR

profession

Implications & recommendations

• 1. Bringing consistency to the language of TR

… and clarity around its philosophical position can only help advance how it is understood by others in the health professions as well as the general public. Our findings provide a portrait of a more unified than stratified profession

• Solid base of values
• Coherent sense of identity
• Strong knowledge base
• Professionalism

10/30/2012 6 Implications & recommendations

• 2. Adopt community-based research (CBR) approaches

to generate practice-based evidence

• In research we need “to bring attention to the wholeness of

the individual in his/her life” (Iwasaki et al., 2010, p. 10).

• CBR brings together diverse partners and actively involves

them in all phases of the research, making this an ideal research approach for honouring these deeply held TR values.

Implications & recommendations

• 3. Apply a strengths-based perspective to build the TR

profession

• Focus on our shared values
• Acknowledge profession’s stage of development
• Remain mindful of external factors that will influence how the

profession develops

Kellie Duckworth, BTR, CTRS kduckworth@cw.bc.ca Sheri Keller, BARA sheri.keller@fraserhealth.ca Brenda Kinch, BTR, CTRS thekinchs@hotmail.com Colleen Reid, PhD reidc@douglascollege.ca