Raymonde Hachey

Meaning of Daily Activities and Subjective Quality of Life in People with Severe Mental Illness

The occupational therapy services for adults with severe and persistent mental illness are concerned with their quality of life. A correlational study explored the relationship between the meaning of daily activities and the subjective quality of life of this group of people. In this study, the meaning of activities was defined by three elements, related to the Human Occupation Model: perceived competence, value and pleasure, measured by the Occupational Questionnaire. The Wisconsin Quality of Life-Client Questionnaire provided a global score for the subjective quality of life. A total of 45 people with severe and persistent mental illness, living in downtown Montreal, participated in a semi-structured interview. The results suggest that perceived competence in daily tasks and rest, and pleasure in work and rest activities are positively correlated with subjective quality of life. The influence of occupation and its meaning on quality of life, an occupational therapy assumption, is supported by these resu...

An evaluation of psychometric properties of the client's questionnaire of the Wisconsin Quality of Life Index-Canadian version (CaW-QLI)

Psychometric properties of Clients questionnaire from the Canadian version of the Wisconsin Quality of Life-Index (CaW-QLI) were assessed with two groups, 89 English (E) and 94 French (F) individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Sub-samples of 40 E and 36 F were re-interviewed within a 2-week period. Spearman correlations-SC between each domain and CaW-QLI global Score ranged from 0.39 to 0.76, while inter-domain correlations were low, confirming the multidimensional properties of the scale. Cronbachs α (internal consistency) were 0.78 (E) and 0.70 (F) for the CaW-QLI global scores and, from 0.45 to 0.88 among seven of eight domains. Test–retest (Concordance Correlation Coefficient-CCC) ranged from 0.36 to 0.80 among the domains, and from 0.80 (E) and 0.85 (F) between CaW-QLI global scores. Regarding convergent validity, SC between CaW-QLI global score and Spitzers QOL-Index were 0.72 (E) and 0.58 (F). As hypothesized, there were higher correlations between CaW-QLI global scores (E and F) and SF-36 scales related to mental health than those related to physical health. Minor changes in the scoring are proposed to enhance face and content validity.

Perceived and Valued Roles of Adults with Severe Mental Health Problems

The purpose of this article is to convey the findings of two studies related to the perception of past, present and future roles, the value attributed to these roles as well as the role patterns. Both studies were conducted with adults who have schizophrenia and are involved in a rehabilitation or work program. Data were collected from two sources: 1) secondary analysis of a study related to the methodology for validating the French translation (Hachey, Jumoorty, & Mercier, 1995) of the “Role Checklist”, (Barris, Oakley, & Kielhofner, 1988) and 2) a research project on the perception of roles and quality of life. Results showed that the dominant roles assumed by participants regardless of time were family member, friend, home maintainer and hobbyist. The most valued roles were those of friend, worker, and family member. The discussion will address the questions asked and elucidate the role patterns. The conclusion underlines the importance, for occupational therapists and health professionals, of including roles in the daily lives of their clients, taking into consideration the ones they value most highly.

Perceptions of Occupational Performance and Subjective Quality of Life in Persons with Severe Mental Illness

Abstract The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between perceptions (among clients and rehabilitation workers) of occupational performance in the domain of work and subjective quality of life. A total of 29 persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia participated in this study. The Wisconsin Quality of Life-Client Questionnaire, the Work Personality Profile and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure were used for this study. The results showed few statistically significant correlations between indicators of subjective quality of life and perceptions, by clients and rehabilitation workers, of occupational performance. The results, however, highlighted the differences between younger and older participants in relation to occupational performance and subjective quality of life.

A Modularized Self-Instructional Course in Psychiatric Occupational Therapy

The process of change in the format of a three credit course entitled: “Occupational Therapy in Psychiatry” offered to second year occupational therapy students at the Université de Montréal involved the transition from a lecture format to a modularized individual instructional course. A description of this process is given and the results of the evaluation of the new course are interpreted and discussed.