Abstract:

A home is a setting in which individuals engage in meaningful activities of daily living and, with increasing frequency, in occupations. Few educational opportunities allow students from different fields to engage in a collaborative project which replicates important aspects of building planning, design, health, well-being, and quality of life. Students pursuing the professions of occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) may commonly be paired together in the academic setting to mirror many of the teams they may be a part of in future practice settings but rarely, if at all with other majors. The construction management (CM) majors can enhance such collaboration by offering construction sustainability, visualization, and constructability input. The context of home, or one’s living space, is frequently part of the equation when planning a safe discharge from a medical facility or providing care within the home setting. When considering the impact of context on occupational performance and functional outcomes it would behoove health care professionals to extend their collaboration to include professionals such as construction management to enhance their understanding of how modified or constructed space can enhance or detract from one’s health, well-being, and quality of life.

This paper discusses the development and outcome of a collaborative project-based learning activity among PT, OT, and CM students who work on surveying and identifying four cases involving patients in the local community with various occupational profiles and backgrounds. In the spring of 2022, the students selected:
Case 1: A patient with arthritis in the spine, knees, and hips and fibromyalgia. The patient is active in retirement with a home-based crafting business.
Case 2: A patient with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, declining mobility and function, and sensitivity to heat. The patient is considering aging in place.
Case 3: A patient with limited vision due to glaucoma and cataracts. The patient is self-sufficient, employed as a paralegal, and lives with extended family.
Case 4: A patient with a spinal cord injury (lumbar level), a competitive road racer, and no identified barriers in daily functions.

The patient lives on the first floor of a two-story home with their parents and trains at home.

In an interprofessional education setting, the students from CM, OT, and PT work collaboratively and consider the influence of context as a significant contributor to performance and functional outcomes. They develop the occupational profiles of each patient and research their living and working environments to enhance function, safety, well-being, and quality of life.

Keywords:

Home, occupational performance, sustainability.