Melinda Suto

University of British Columbia | UBC · Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

Social isolation and loneliness in long-term care settings are a growing concern. Drawing on concepts of social citizenship, we developed a peer mentoring program in which resident mentors and volunteers formed a team, met weekly for training, and paired up to visit isolated residents. In this article, we explore the experiences of the resident men...

Background Sustaining well-being challenges people with serious mental health issues. Community gardening is an occupation used to promote clients’ well-being, yet there is limited evidence to support this intervention. Purpose This paper examines how facilitated community gardening programs changed the subjective well-being and social connectedne...

Objectives: Loneliness and depression are of increasing concern in long-term care homes made more urgent by viral outbreak isolation protocols. An innovative program called Java Mentorship was developed that engaged community volunteers and resident volunteers (mentors) as a team. The team met weekly, received education, and provided visits and gui...

Loneliness, depression, and social isolation are common among people living in long-term care homes, despite the activities provided. We examined the impact of a new peer mentoring program called Java Mentorship on mentees’ loneliness, depression, and social engagement, and described their perceptions of the visits. We conducted a mixed-methods app...

Mental health issues are increasingly prevalent among North American post-secondary students and often impede academic progress. However, students appear reluctant to seek help and access mental health services due to stigma associated with mental health issues. Our study explored university students’ perspectives on and experiences of mental illne...

Delphi consensus consultation methods and community-based participatory research (CBPR) are distinct approaches that have traditionally been employed separately. This paper explores the integration of Delphi methods with CBPR in a research project that sought to identify effective self-management strategies for bipolar disorder (BD). We introduce o...

Objective: To explore self-management strategies used by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) with aim of developing a MS self-management model. Methods: A grounded theory approach guided development of a MS self-management model. Eighteen individuals living with MS for three or more years and self-identifying as successfully managing their MS we...

Introduction Affecting 5–6% of children, developmental coordination disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by poor motor coordination and difficulty learning motor skills. Although quantitative studies have suggested that children with developmental coordination disorder experience reduced quality of life, no known qualitative stud...

Most residents within residential care lack a sense of purpose. This has been associated with loneliness and depression, which are wide-spread across long-term care, assisted and retirement living. There is evidence that individuals engaged in peer support groups experience significant benefits, but this type of program is rare within these setting...

Depression and loneliness are biopsychosocial determinants of health, which contribute to functional decline and mortality among older adults living in residential care. Research in other settings indicates peer support may be effective at reducing depression and loneliness and enhancing social identity. Therefore, an innovative peer mentoring inte...

This case describes a study undertaken in 2012 by the collaborative research team to study psychosocial issues in bipolar disorder (CREST.BD) at the University of British Columbia. Our team used a community-based participatory research approach combined with the Delphi Consensus Consultation Method to explore self-management strategies that people...

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how mental health and related services support and hinder resilience in young people diagnosed with first-episode psychosis. Seventeen youth between the ages of 18-24 were recruited and 31 in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings illustrated that informational and meaning making, instrument...

This paper reports on key findings of a critical qualitative inquiry undertaken with an Indigenous early child development (ECD) program in Canada, known as the Aboriginal Infant Development Program (AIDP). In depth, semi-structured interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of: Indigenous caregivers and Elders, AIDP workers, and administrativ...

This paper addresses transition, defined as an unanticipated and unwanted passage from one life phase, condition, or status to another, following an unexpected health-related illness or trauma. It does so by reporting the results of two systematic reviews, one from literature taking an occupational perspective and the other from the broader literat...

Background: Self-management represents an important complement to psychosocial treatments for bipolar disorder (BD), but research is limited. Specifically, little is known about self-management approaches for elevated mood states; this study investigated self-management strategies for: (1) maintaining balance in mood, and (2) stopping progression...

Loneliness and depression are serious mental health concerns across the spectrum of residential care, from nursing homes to assisted and retirement living. Psychosocial care provided to residents to address these concernsik is typically based on a long-standing tradition of 'light' social events, such as games, trips, and social gatherings, planned...

10.1177/0008417414551784

Peer support involves people in recovery from mental illness supporting their peers. This mixed-methods pilot randomized control trial with qualitative interviews aimed to (a) compare peer support worker (PSW) and mental health worker (MHW) client outcomes and (b) provide estimates to inform the design of a larger study. Fifteen adults living with...

Objectives: This qualitative study explored expected possible selves (PS) and coping skills among young and middle-aged adults with bipolar disorder (BD) in Hong Kong. Disruptive or positive experiences associated with BD can shape the development of the sense of PS. Method: Guided by narrative inquiry methodology, 14 Chinese participants (8 women...

In this paper, we explore the implications of applying critical perspectives to the play occupations of Indigenous children in Canada, and of reframing play as an occupational determinant of health. First we consider the normalizing construction of play in early child development. We then apply critical perspectives to discuss the implications of r...

Background. Spirituality is a complex yet vital aspect of care on acute psychiatric units. Occupational therapists play a role in engaging their clients regarding spirituality as a resource for recovery.

Background: The phenomenon of well-being has attracted a surge of attention in mental health policy, clinical practice and research internationally. Yet, the definitions of well-being remain elusive, and there is limited understanding on its meanings from the perspectives of youth mental health service users. Objective: This study explored the m...

Spirituality is a complex yet vital aspect of care on acute psychiatric units. Occupational therapists play a role in engaging their clients regarding spirituality as a resource for recovery. This manuscript reports on Part I of a research study that explored the experience of spiritual conversations for patients (Part I) and mental health professi...

The inclusion of spiritual conversations in occupational therapy is congruent with the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement, which identifies spirituality as the core of every human being. Research indicates that spirituality can be a resource for mental health recovery. This manuscript reports on Part 2 of a research study tha...

Background.The inclusion of spiritual conversations in occupational therapy is congruent with the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement, which identifies spirituality as the core of every human being. Research indicates that spirituality can be a resource for mental health recovery.Purpose.This manuscript reports on Part 2 of a...

The purpose of this study was to understand how engagement in valued activities contributes to the well-being of young people diagnosed as having psychosis within the past 3 years. Using a qualitative approach, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews and photography-elicited focus groups with 17 participants between the ages of 18 and 24 y...

Engagement and meaning are essential properties of occupation that have been associated with well-being in the occupational science literature. A deeper examination of subjective experiences while engaging in particular occupations may illuminate how specific occupational characteristics contribute to the relationship between occupation and well-be...

Introduction: Migration across international borders is an identifying feature of 21st century globalization. Employment is an important criterion of integration, however, its prominence has deflected attention from other complex issues, namely how health is influenced by participation through cultural, social, and community occupations. Research o...

Photovoice is a participatory action research method combining photography and group work to give people an opportunity to record and reflect on their daily lives. To review the use of Photovoice in health research and consider the implications for occupational therapy research. Literature review, guided by a scoping framework, reveals the purposes...

Increasingly, qualitative researchers are combining methods, processes, and principles from two or more methodologies over the course of a research study. Critics charge that researchers adopting combined approaches place too little attention on the historical, epistemological, and theoretical aspects of the research design. Rather than discounting...

It continues to be a challenge to define and utilize spirituality in client-centred occupational therapy practice. Dialogue about spirituality is especially problematic for occupational therapists working with people with schizophrenia. To explore the meaning of religion and/or spirituality for people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Nine...

The purpose of this article is to share the details, outcomes and deliverables from an international workshop on work transitions in London, Ontario, Canada. Researchers, graduate students, and community group members met to identity ways to advance the knowledge base of strategies to enhance work participation for those in the most disadvantaged g...

The aim of this qualitative study was to provide insight on how mothers with inflammatory arthritis experience mothering occupations in the presence of arthritis and how this experience affects participation and occupational identity. Narrative inquiry explored the experiences of eight mothers with inflammatory arthritis who had children younger th...

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Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex mental illness that results in substantial costs, both at a personal and societal level. Research into BD has been driven by a strongly medical model conception, with a focus upon pathology and dysfunction. Little research to date has focused upon strategies used to maintain or regain wellness in BD...

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex chronic condition associated with substantial costs, both at a personal and societal level. Growing research indicates that experiences with stigma may play a significant role in contributing to the distress, disability, and poor quality of life (QoL) often experienced in people with BD. Here, we present a sub-set...

Research has shown that adults with cerebral palsy (CP) lose functional abilities earlier than persons who are able-bodied. Because CP is a lifespan disability, developmental therapists should be aware of these changes. We used descriptive phenomenology to understand the unique, lived experiences of adults growing older with CP. Data were gathered...

although much has been written about biomedical concerns in adults ageing with cerebral palsy (CP), few studies or reviews have addressed psychosocial aspects. the purpose of this narrative review is to critically examine studies that have addressed needs for social support, as well as issues affecting morale, self-efficacy, health attitudes, emplo...

Little is known about how patients successfully manage their bipolar disorder (BD). This is a remarkable gap in the BD literature, given that current treatments are inadequate and information about beneficial self-management strategies could have clinical and theoretical implications. Here, we present results from a study of self-management strateg...

Work is a significant occupational transition that occurs with immigration and resettlement. Problems finding work and regaining economic capital are multi-factorial, differentiated by gender and mediated by specific contexts. Surprisingly, past education and work experience are unreliable predictors of successful employment outcomes. Critical theo...

To describe the impact of chronic, inflammatory arthritis on parenting and to develop a conceptual framework for subsequent study of mothering. A qualitative, grounded theory design guided data collection and analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 women with either rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, ju...

Patients in hospital discharge planning units are often described as waiting for placement, implying a passivity that is not necessarily part of their experience. The anthropological concept of liminality, which refers to both a state of being and a process during which people are suspended between former and future selves, offers a framework for e...

Despite leisure's central position within occupational therapy models of practice, theoretical development from within occupational therapy remains limited. Historically occupational therapy has viewed leisure as an occupational performance area, quantifiable and discretionary time, and as activity used to achieve clients' targeted outcomes. Using...

An ethnographic approach was used to study the relationship between temporal perspective in persons with chronic schizophrenia and their ability to function in chosen occupations and participate in the routines of a board and care home. Components of future time perspective (extension, coherence, and density) are associated with the ability to orga...

Understanding leisure as an occupation requires as examination of leisure definitions, the various contexts and conditions that support or impede leisure, and meanings that arise from leisure participation. Social scientists who contribute to leisure studies conceptualize leisure as time, activity, context, and subjective experience and their resea...