title: Broadening the Conceptualization of Participation of Persons With Physical Disabilities: A Configurative Review and Recommendations.
abstract: Within the context of physical disability, participation has typically been conceptualized in terms of one's performance of different roles and activities. This perspective, however, ignores the meanings and satisfactions that a person derives from participating. Without an accepted conceptualization of participation that accounts for people's subjective perceptions and experiences, it is challenging for decision-makers and service providers to design meaningful participation-enhancing services, programs, and policies. Accordingly, our objectives were (1) to conduct a review of definitions and conceptualizations of participation that extend beyond performance and capture people's subjective experiences of participating and (2) to identify key experiential aspects of participation that can be used as a basis for conceptualizing and operationalizing the concept more broadly. The project involved a systematic, configurative review of relevant literature. Ten relevant articles were identified. Information on characteristics associated with experiential aspects of participation was extracted and subjected to a thematic analysis. The following 6 themes emerged: autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, mastery, and meaning. Drawing on these findings, it is recommended that the individual's subjective perceptions of autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, mastery, and meaning associated with participating be incorporated into conceptualizations and operationalizations of the participation construct. This recommendation provides a starting point for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to conceptualize and measure the participation concept more consistently and more broadly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. Electronic address: kathleen_martin.ginis@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Kathleen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Martin Ginis
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
authors.forename: M Blair
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: W Ben
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Mortenson
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation and Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Laval University, Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Noreau
mesh_terms: D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D012931:Social Environment; D058992:Social Participation / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Rehabilitation; Review, systematic; Social Participation