Occupational goals of mothers of children with disabilities: influence of temporal, social, and emotional contexts.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to describe the occupational concerns and goals of mothers who care for children with disabilities.


METHODS
Retrospective data collected from 38 mothers of children with disabilities using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) were analyzed qualitatively.


RESULTS
Six themes emerged: (I) doing and being alone: taking care of my own health and well-being; (II) doing and being with others: expanding my social life; (III) improving my child's quality of life; (IV) household management: organizing time and resources; (V) balancing work, home, and community responsibilities; and (VI) sharing the workload.


CONCLUSIONS
Overarching patterns in the data suggested that the occupational performance of mothers of children with disabilities is constrained by time, overlaid by difficult emotions, and involves a desire for increased social contact. Qualitative analysis of data from the COPM may provide insight into contextual factors that affect occupational performance as well as signaling point of entry for therapists to facilitate client-centered occupational goals.
Donovan
J Mark
JM
Veteran's Administration Health Care System, PO Box 10123, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87184, USA. mark.donovan@med.va.gov
VanLeit
Betsy J
BJ
Crowe
Terry K
TK
Keefe
Elizabeth B
EB
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D004644:Emotions; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009516:New Mexico; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012919:Social Behavior