Getting innovative on a remote placement
A group of students reflect on their experience of working collaboratively to design walking trails to encourge residents at an aged-care facility in Australia to engage more , socially and occupationally .
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n their second year , occupational therapy students at the University of Southampton complete the academic module ‘ Design for occupation ’ in which they receive a ‘ brief ’ from a community partner and create a design that responds to the identified needs .
‘ The partner organisations and projects are diverse , but share a common goal , which is to make environmental changes that enhance engagement in occupation ,’ explains Rachel Houweling , lecturer and project supervisor .
‘ The brief for this project came from the University of Sydney ’ s Sanetta du Toit , who wanted to encourage residents at an aged-care facility to engage more on both a social and occupational level .
‘ An already interesting , but potentially challenging , project , it had an added “ twist ” for the UK students , as the facility that they would be designing for was located in Australia . They could not visit the site and also needed to consider factors important to that local context , which were unfamiliar to them .
‘ As an example , the students needed to learn about the culture and climate and of course wildlife , which were all different to the UK , but critical in developing an appropriate design .
‘ Here the students reflect on this process , the importance of good communication and also share something of the design that they collaboratively developed to promote the physical , mental , and social wellbeing of residents .’
Reflections on the project
Within occupational therapy , it is imperative to work holistically to provide the best possible outcome for our service users . As therapists , we consider mental and physical health when designing innovative solutions to optimise quality of life and ensure best practice .
In the second year of our occupational therapy degree , we were provided with a brief detailing how service users in a residential home were experiencing a lack of spontaneous interaction and movement around the facility , exacerbated during the COVID-19 lockdown .
Residents were unmotivated to participate in physical and social activity , due to a lack of opportunities for engagement in meaningful occupations . Therefore , for this project we were briefed to create walking trails in and around the residential home to increase physical , mental and social wellbeing .
Our international partners included a live-in physiotherapy student , Joshua Wan , and Sanetta du Toit , Senior Occupational Therapy Lecturer and Faculty of Medicine and Health Student Life Director at the University of Sydney .
Adopting an iterative design process and continuous conversations with Joshua and Sanetta , we gained an understanding of the service users ’ needs as well as the environmental challenges within the facility .
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