The daily lives and occupations of Tibetan families who have a child with disabilities.
The aim of this paper is to explore and describe the experiences of Tibetan families living in remote villages that have a child with disabilities. Focusing on their specific situations and the influences on their daily occupations, the study provides a deeper understanding of the families' experiences, perceptions, and expressed needs. Two families participated in an ethnographic study. Both participant observation and conversational interviews were used to collect data. A comparative data analysis revealed the following themes: 1) Families' views on disability and care provision: "What we have, we are willing to give"; 2) Families' occupational pressures: "One person needs to be the caregiver all the time"; 3) Families' desires: "That the child can feed and go to the toilet independently". Implications of the findings for practice in remote areas and cross-cultural contexts are discussed. These findings may help to provide a good foundation for occupational therapy practice in this context.
Scheidegger
Gaby
G
Chinserve Relief and Development, Peoples Republic of China. gscheidegger@gmx.net
Lovelock
Linda
L
Kinébanian
Astrid
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D044466:Asian People; D001290:Attitude / Q000208:ethnology; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D003469:Culture; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology; D005192:Family Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D012424:Rural Population; D018609:Tibet