Meanings about everyday life produced by occupational therapy students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study aims to understand how students reflected on their daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the knowledge gained from graduation in occupational therapy. The study sample consisted of 235 occupational therapy undergraduate students from different periods of the course, from different higher education institutions located from North to South of the country. Data were collected by applying an on-line form (Google Forms) using the Questionnaire of Academic Experiences in Occupational Therapy (QUESVATO) elaborated by the authors of this study. Qualitative data were analyzed using the IRaMuTeQ software (Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires). The lexical classes resulting from the analysis received the following nominations: class 1: Attention to family members; class 2: Believing in Occupational Therapy; class 3: Adapting and organizing everyday life; class 4: Certainties and experiences; and class 5: Interruption of everyday life and mental health. It was possible to follow different forms of appropriation of the concept by the participants: applying it in possible interventions in the everyday lives of others; through a practical approach, where theory enables a process of criticism and evaluation to transform everyday life; through a pragmatic approach, where the immediate transition from reading the situation to acting on it is made; as a safe way of analyzing the context full of uncertainties and changes that we are experiencing in contemporary times; changes and interruptions in everyday life stand out as aspects/issues that have negative effects on people's mental health.