Clinical reasoning of Brazilian expert occupational therapists: a constructivist grounded theory study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/2526-%208910.ctoAO288837501%20Keywords:
Raciocínio Clínico, Occupational Therapy, Grounded Theory, Thinking, Professional PracticeAbstract
Introduction: Practice-based models or theories are relevant elements for understanding deliberate thinking processes in individualizing care for a specific client in occupational therapists' practice. The Dynamic Occupational Therapy Method (DOTM) is an ongoing conceptual-methodological framework developed in Brazil since the 1970s. Objective: To examine the clinical reasoning processes of expert occupational therapists employing the DOTM. Method: A constructivist grounded theory approach guided this study. Data were collected and analyzed simultaneously through Constant Comparative Analysis. Individual and in-group interviews, and a reflective journal, comprised the data collection instruments. Participants were ten expert occupational therapists with: minimum of 10 years of practice experience, minimum of five years since completion of the DOTM clinical training, employing the DOTM as the main framework in practice, and considered by peers as experts. Results: Two major categories emerged from data analysis: (1) the DOTM reasoning processes – construction of the situational diagnosis, establishment and management of the triadic relationship, and dialogical assessment of the therapeutic process/associative paths; (2) thinking ethicalaesthetically, associatively, and dynamically. Conclusion: This research advances knowledge about the reasoning processes of expert therapists, demonstrating the importance of theoretical and methodological knowledge to inform clinical reasoning. A theory on the clinical reasoning of expert occupational therapists employing the DOTM was developed, detailing how this conceptualmethodological framework underpins reasoning by providing valuable operational concepts to support a dynamic practice centered on the clients' uniqueness and situated context.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The “Statement of Responsibility, Copyright and License Agreement” according to the model below must be signed by all the authors and sent during the article submission.
Statement of Responsibility, Copyright and License Agreement
Submission date:
Paper’s Title:
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that:
I participated in the conception of the paper and make public my responsibility for its content.
- All information concerning any source of funding received for the development of this research has been properly disclosed and made available to the editors during the submission.
- There were no connections or agreements between authors and funding sources that constitute any conflict of interest, potential or apparent, that may affect the results of the research.
- If experiments with human or animal subjects were involved all ethical procedures were followed and approved by an Institutional Review Board and that informed consent has been collected and archived when necessary, and the dissemination of images was authorized and I assume full responsibility for it.
- That the manuscript is original and that the research is not in part nor in whole currently submitted to another periodical, either in print or in an electronic format, nor is any other material of my authorship with substantially similar content so submitted.
- If requested, I will provide and cooperate fully in obtaining and providing data on which this text is based, for the editors’ examination.
- I have read and agreed with the terms of the Open Access and License Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY), available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Authors’ full names and signatures list:
