[Analysis of the concept of social participation: definitions, illustration, dimensions of activity and indicators].
BACKGROUND
Social participation is an integral part of human life. This concept has appeared in recent health literature and is considered one of the main goals of rehabilitation.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to clarify the concept of social participation and its applicability in mental health. The concept of social participation is distinguished from other related concepts and measurement tools assessing social participation are examined.


METHODS
The analysis was done according to the Walker and Avant (1995) method.


RESULTS
The analysis identified three attributes of social participation: 7) participation implies an action from the individual; 2) this action contributes to others; 3) personal and societal dimensions need to be considered. Based on the examination of 77 measurement tools, there appears to be operational consensus that social participation is the realization of activities. The most often used indicators include amount and frequency of activities.


CONCLUSIONS
The Assessment of Life Habits and the Participation Measure for Post-Acute Care appear to be the most comprehensive assessments available to measure social participation in mental health that are currently available.
Université de Sherbrooke, Ecole de Réadaptation, Québec. nadine.lariviere@usherbrooke.ca
Nadine
N
Larivière
D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008603:Mental Health; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D012944:Social Support