Content uploaded by Hashem Salman Abu Tariah
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Hashem Salman Abu Tariah on Oct 10, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2 114
The Activities of Interest for the Jordanian Population from
the Perspective of Occupational Therapy Students
Hashem Abu Tariah
1
, Mohammad Jebril
1
1
Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to establish a list of interests/activities of Jordanians and to cluster
those activities into main categories.
Method:
Four activity groups (10 students each) were conducted. Participants were requested to list the
interests/activities of the Jordanians from different age groups and from both genders.
Results:
The Jordanians’ list of interests involved 98 different activities. It was clustered into five main
categories: Leisure activities, play/sports, cultural and educational activities, self-care and home-care, and
social activities.
Conclusion:
Similarities as well as differences between the Mastsutsuyu’s list of interest and the Jordanian
list were identified. Matsutsuyu’s list need to be revised and modified to be compatible with the new
interests/activities created by the advancement in technology, human needs, and the cultural differences.
Keywords:
Interest Checklist; Jordan; culture; occupational therapy.
Corresponding author:
Hashem Abu Tariah,
PhD, OTR,
Associate Professor, Department of Occupational
Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, The
Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan, P.O Box 711346
Amman 11171, Jordan,
Email: hashemsalman@hotmail.com,
Phone: +962-7-96040296, Fax: +962-5-3903368
INTRODUCTION
According to the third edition of the American
Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA)
Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and
Process
1
, the occupational therapy process starts with
gathering information about the client’s “occupational
history and experiences, patterns of daily living,
interests, values, and needs” (p.S10). Occupational
therapists treat by using the activities that their clients
are interested in as, “interests lead to active participation
in satisfying occupational activities”
2
.
Several assessment tools are used by occupational
therapists to gather information about the clients’
occupations and needs. These include interests, roles,
and daily living activities such as: the Occupational
Performance History Interview (OPHI)
3
, Role Checklist
4
, Volitional Questionnaire, Occupational Questionnaire
2,5,6,7,8
and Interest Checklist
9
.
Kielhofner (2008)
8
reported that interests are
recognized as one of the components of volition. The
Interest Checklist is an assessment tool that is used by
occupational therapists to gather information about a
client’s past and present interests in different activities,
and whether he/she would like to pursue such interests
in the future
10
. This checklist can be used with both
adolescents and adults. Matsutsuyu’s Interest Checklist
(1969) was revised by Kielhofner in 1985
11
. The purpose
of the Interest Checklist is to classify the intensity of
interest for each of the 80 items as casual (some), strong,
or no interest; as well as the client’s ability to express
personal preferences and examine the client’s ability to
discriminate between choices
2
.
Interests are influenced by prevailing values and
roles, local culture, social aspects, and competence
to participate
12,13
. The 80 activities that are listed
in the Interest Checklist can vary from culture to
culture. These activities are appropriate for western
DOI Number:
10.5958/0973-5674.2017.00046.6
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2 116
117 Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2
culture, some of them might not be applicable in other
cultures. Moreover, other activities can be of interest
to people in other cultures might not be applicable to
those in the western cultures. The original and revised
Neuropsychiatric Institute Interest Checklist (NPIIC)
10
were translated to Japanese language, however,
Wakamatsu and Tsuchizawa (1992)
14,15
found that
some Japanese people misunderstood some items on the
checklist.
Jordan, is a country in the Middle East where the
profession of occupational therapy is relatively new.
According to The World Factbook:
16
. Jordanians
are considered conservative communities due to the
influence of religion. The Jordanian population is nearly
8.1 million. The majority of them (97%) are Muslims.
Jordan has a young population, more than half of the
Jordanians (54.4%) are 24 years old or younger, 36.2%
are 25-54 years old
16
.
The Interest Checklist, in spite of its importance as a
tool that can be used by occupational therapists, cannot
be used with Jordanian clients by occupational therapists
due to the fact that most of the current list of activities
are not considered part of Jordanian culture and the
list is missing relevant daily activities that Jordanians
perform.
The purpose of this study was to establish a list of
activities for Jordanians according to their interests and
to cluster those activities into main categories.
METHODOLOGY
Participants and setting
This study was conducted among occupational
therapy students at the Hashemite University in Zarqa/
Jordan after securing the ethical approval from the
Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Hashemite
University. Occupational therapy students were recruited
due to their understanding of the value, importance, and
concept behind the Interest Checklist.
To be included in the study students should be:
fourth year occupational therapy students, currently in
their fieldwork, and Jordanian. Convenience sampling
method was used in this study.
Forty occupational therapy students who met the
inclusion criteria were included in the study. They
were 8 male students and 32 females. All of them were
between 21-23 years old. Participants were divided into
four activity groups of 10 students as recommended by
Krueger and Casey (2000)
17
. Each group consisted of
two male and eight female students. Each of the four
groups had students represented different geographical
regions of Jordan. Each group, after spending about 1.5-
2 hours working on the task, submitted a list of interests
for male and female Jordanian adolescents, adults, and
elderly.
Data Collection
Participants who chose to be in the study, signed
a consent form and were assigned one of the two-hour
activity groups. The participants met as a round table
discussion in their four groups and were asked to list
activities of interest to Jordanians from different age
groups (adolescents, adults, and elderly) relevant to both
genders. At the round table discussion, they were asked
to list the activities individually, then they were asked
to compile each groups’ list into one cohesive list of
activities. Finally, they were requested to cluster the list
they established into main categories.
Data Analysis
Authors of this study facilitated the process of
data collection and collected the work/lists of the four
activity groups. Each of the four lists were reviewed
and compared with each other for similarities and
consistency. Finally, the items/activities were clustered
into main categories first by each group then finalized as
common categories by the researchers.
RESULTS
After reviewing the lists from the four groups,
similarities among them were clear. The four lists were
combined into one (table 1). The Jordanians’ list of
interests involved 98 different interests. Almost 80%
of the interest items were common among all groups.
Those interests, up to the knowledge of the students
and the researchers, are representative to almost all
Jordanian groups mentioned above.
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2 116
117 Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2
Table 1. Jordanians’ List of Interests
1-
Watching TV
2-
Sports (Soccer, basketball, etc.)
3-
Video games/ Computer games
4-
Browsing the internet
5-
Swimming
6-
Singing
7-
Housekeeping (Laundry, ironing, etc.)
8-
Cars (brands and models)
9-
Home decorations
10-
Barbequing
11-
Family and friends trips
12-
Reading
13-
Hair styling
14-
Billiard sports
15-
Shopping
16-
Family / social visits
17-
Cell phones and applications
18-
Watching movies
19-
Cooking / making disserts
20-
Gardening
21-
Board games (Backgammon, chess,
etc.)
22-
Clothing/Fashion
23-
Ladies morning visits to neighbors
24-
Eating different types of food
25-
Watching sport games
26-
Playing cards
27-
Rapid pro t activities (e.g. Lottery,
Rapid pro t activities (e.g. Lottery,
TV game shows, stock market)
28-
Visiting malls
29-
Cinemas / theaters
30-
Listening to music
31-
Education
32-
Politics
33-
Languages (English, French, etc.)
34-
Radio listening
35-
Body building / tness
36-
Feasts (preparation for and
participation)
37-
Writing
38-
Poetry
39-
Drawing
40-
Fashion designing
41-
Driving cars
42-
Solving riddles / puzzles
43-
Horoscopes
44-
Coffee cup reading
45-
Worshiping
46-
Travelling
47-
Festivals / Parties
48-
Arts and crafts
49-
Ranching / livestock
50-
Farming
51-
Cultural proverbs
52-
Herbal medicine
53-
Jokes and humor
54-
Cultural games
55-
Spinning wool
56-
Wool knitting
57-
Folklore
58-
Fishing
59-
Painting on glass
60-
Sand art bottles
61-
Cosmetics / make up
62-
Childcare
63-
Photography
64-
Walking
65-
Martial arts
66-
Gatherings (men / women)
67-
Bird / pigeon breeding
68-
Collecting antiques, coins, etc.
69-
Chatting through social media
70-
Smoking Argila/ Shisha
71-
Health and diet
72-
Going to coffee shops
73-
Horseback riding
74-
Table tennis (Ping pong)
75-
Fish breeding
76-
Pet care
77-
Dancing / Dabke
78-
Playing musical instruments
79-
Acting
80-
Hand writing art
81-
Wood working / carving
82-
Hand tricks
83-
Diving
84-
Camping
85-
Hunting
86-
Calling / cell phone chatting
87-
Imitating others
88-
Designing dolls
89-
Bee breeding
90-
Sewing
91-
Volunteering / fund raising
92-
Arranging owers
93-
Reading newspapers and /
journals
94-
Flying Kites
95-
Theme parks
96-
Invitations and participations in
home special meals (Ramadan
Breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner)
97-
Gatherings at tribe’s Dewan (A
designated place/chamber for
members of a tribe)
98-
Social problem solving
Table 2. Clustering of Jordanians’ Interests
Leisure Activities
Play / Sports
Play / Sports
Cultural and
Cultural and
educational activities
Self-care and
Self-care and
Home-care
Social Activities
Social Activities
1-
Watching TV
2-
Video games/ Computer
games
3-
Browsing the internet
4-
Singing
5-
Cars (brands and models)
6-
Home decorations**
7-
Barbequing*
8-
Family and friends trips*
9-
Reading***
10-
Hair styling
11-
Shopping**
12-
Cell phones and
applications
13-
Watching movies
14-
Cooking / making disserts**
15-
Gardening
16-
Board games
(Backgammon, chess, etc.)
17-
Clothing/Fashion
18-
Eating different types of
food**
19-
Watching sport games
20-
Playing cards
21-
Rapid pro t activities (e.g.
Lottery, TV game shows,
stock market)
22-
Visiting malls
23-
Cinemas / theaters
24-
Listening to music
25-
Writing***
26-
Poetry***
27-
Drawing
28-
Fashion designing
29-
Driving cars
30-
Solving riddles/
Solving riddles/
puzzles
31-
Horoscopes
32-
Travelling
33-
Festivals / Parties *
34-
Arts and crafts*
35-
Jokes and humor
36-
Cultural games
37-
Spinning wool
38-
Wool knitting
39-
Painting on glass***
40-
Sand art bottles***
41-
Cosmetics /make
up**
42-
Photography
43-
Bird /pigeon
breeding
44-
Collecting antiques,
coins, etc.
45-
Smoking Argila/
Shisha*
46-
Going to coffee
shops*
47-
Fish breeding
48-
Pet care
49-
Dancing / Dabke*****
50-
Playing musical
instruments
51-
Acting
52-
Hand writing art***
53-
Wood working /
carving
54-
Hand tricks
55-
Camping*
56-
Imitating others
57-
Designing dolls
58-
Bee breeding
59-
Sewing
60-
Arranging owers
61-
Flying Kites
62-
Theme parks
1-
Sports (Soccer,
Sports (Soccer,
basketball, etc.)
2-
Swimming
Billiard sports
3-
Fishing
4-
Walking
5-
Martial arts
6-
Horseback
riding
7-
Table tennis
(Ping pong)
8-
Dancing /
Dabke*****
9-
Diving
10-
Hunting
1-
Reading***
Reading***
2-
Education
3-
Politics
4-
Languages
5-
Radio listening
6-
Feasts (preparation for
and participation)
7-
Writing***
8-
Poetry***
9-
Coffee cup reading****
10-
Worshiping
11-
Festivals / Parties *
12-
Arts and crafts*
13-
Ranching / livestock
14-
Farming
15-
Cultural proverbs
16-
Herbal medicine
17-
Folklore
18-
Painting on glass***
19-
Sand art bottles***
20-
Childcare
21-
Hand writing art***
22-
Reading newspapers and
/ journals
23-
Invitations and
participations in home
special meals (Ramadan
Breakfast, lunch, and/or
dinner)****
24-
Gatherings at Tribe’s
Dewan (A designated
place/chamber for
members of a tribe)****
25-
Social problem solving****
1-
Housekeeping
(Laundry, ironing,
etc.)
2-
Home
decorations**
3-
Shopping**
4-
Cooking / making
disserts**
5-
Eating different
types of food**
6-
Body building /
tness
7-
Cosmetics / make
up**
8-
Health and diet
1-
Barbequing*
Barbequing*
2-
Family and friends trips*
3-
Family / social visits
4-
Ladies morning visits to
neighbors
5-
Coffee cup reading****
6-
Gatherings (men /
women)
7-
Chatting through social
media
8-
Smoking Argila/ Shisha*
9-
Going to coffee shops*
10-
Camping*
11-
Calling / cell phone
chatting
12-
Volunteering / fund
raising
13-
Invitations and
participations in home
special meals (Ramadan
Breakfast, lunch, and/or
dinner)****
14-
Gatherings at Tribe’s
Dewan (A designated
place/chamber for
members of a tribe)****
15-
Social problem
solving****
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2 118
119 Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2
*Leisure + Social activities, ** Leisure + Self-care
and Home-care activities, *** Leisure + Cultural and
educational activities, **** Cultural and educational +
Social activities ***** Leisure + Sports/play activities
The Jordanian activities of interest were first
clustered by the participants as described above. Five
main categories emerged: Leisure activities, play/sports,
cultural and educational activities, self-care and home-
care, and social activities (table 2). Some activities/
interests were fit under more than one category. For
example, barbequing was categorized under both leisure
as well as social activities, same as with family and
friends trips. Some activities were categorized under
both leisure and self-care and home-care such as home
decoration, shopping, cooking, and cosmetics/make
up. Activities such as reading, writing, and poetry
were categorized under both leisure and cultural and
educational activities (table 2).
The list identified 62 interests that were categorized
under leisure activities representing about 63% of all
interests. Followed by 25 cultural and educational
activities (25%), 15 social activities (15%), 10 play/sport
activities (10%), and 8 self-care and home-care activities
(8%). Note that the total is more than 100% since 21 of
the activities (21%) were fit under two different interest
categories (table 2).
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
The purpose of this study was to establish a list
of interest/activities of Jordanians and to cluster those
activities. The study was conducted on Jordanian
Occupational Therapy Bachelor level students in their
fourth year and on their clinical training.
Similar to the study that was conducted in Japan
by Yamada et al. (2002)
13
,differences were found
between the interests of Jordanians and those listed in
Matsutsuyu’s Interest Checklist. It was expected that
western cultures might have more chances, options, and
ease of access to a wider variety of interests compared to
the Jordanian culture. However, number of interest does
not necessarily mean that a Jordanian individual has
more interests than another person living in the western
cultures.
Reasons behind why the Jordanians found to have a
wider variety of interests (98 compared to 80), might be
related to factors such as: the advancement of technology,
inventions, and human needs. The Matsutsuyu’s list was
developed in 1969, while the Jordanian list according
to this study was recently established (2016). Other
reasons are cultural in nature. Interests/activities such
as gatherings at tribe’s
Dewan
, social problem solving,
invitations and participations in home special meals are
deeply engrained into Jordanian culture.
Similarities were found between the categories of
both lists such as social recreation with leisure activities
and social activities; activities of daily living with self-
care and home-care; cultural/educational with cultural
and educational; manual skills with leisure activities;
and physical sports with play/sport.
The importance of this study is that currently the
Interest Checklist is not used in any occupational therapy
clinic in Jordan due to the fact that some interests in
Matsutsuyu’s list or the modified one are not compatible
with Jordanians. The Jordanian interests/activities list
identified in this study should be presented to Jordanian
therapists and clients from different age groups. Other
occupational therapists in the region such as the Arabic
Gulf area, other African Arab countries, and Middle
Eastern countries in general might use this suggested
Interest Checklist due to cultural similarities.
A limitation of this study is that the participants
were a homogenous group of young adult students; not
from not from actual Jordanian adolescents; adults; and
elderly from different regions of Jordan directly speaking
about their interests. The suggested Interest Checklist
needs to be empirically validated among Jordanians
before claiming that it represents the Jordanian Interest
Checklist.
Ethical approval
through the IRB of the Hashemite
University # 11/2/1402606
Conflicts of Interest:
There are no conflicts of
interest.
No funding source for this study.
CONCLUSION
The Interest Checklist is a well-known assessment
tool that is used in most occupational therapy clinics all
over the world due to its importance in the occupational
therapy process. This useful assessment tool is not
used in Jordan due to the cultural variations between
the interests/activities that are listed in the formal list
Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2 118
119 Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, April-June 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2
of Matsutsuyu. Modifying the list was possible in this
study.
REFERENCES
1.
Occupational Therapy Practice Framework:
Domain and Process (3rd Edition). Am. J. Occup.
Ther. 68, S1–S48 (2014).
2.
Klyczek, J. P., Bauer-Yox, N. & Fiedler, R. C.
The Interest Checklist: a factor analysis. Am. J.
Occup. Ther. 51, 815–23
3.
Kielhofner, G. A user’s manual for the
occupational performance history interview
(version 2.1) OPHI-II. (The Model of Human
Occupation Clearinghouse Dept. of Occupational
Therapy University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004).
4.
Oakley, F., Kielhofner, G., Barris, R. & Reichler,
R. K. The Role Checklist: Development and
Empirical Assessment of Reliability. OTJR
Occup. Particip. Heal. 6, 157–170 (1986).
5.
De las Heras C, Geist R, Kielhofner G, L. Y. The
Volitional Questionnaire. Version 4.0. Chicago:
The Model of Human Occupation Clearinghouse,
Department of Occupational Therapy, College of
Applied Health Sciences. University of Illinois:
Chicago. (2003).
6.
Williams & Willkins. Model of human occupation:
Theory and application Kielhofner G. (1985).
7.
Smith, N. R., Kielhofner, G. & Watts, J. H. The
relationships between volition, activity pattern,
and life satisfaction in the elderly. Am. J. Occup.
Ther. 40, 278–83 (1986).
8.
Kielhofner, G. Model of human occupation :
theory and application. (Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins, 2008).
9.
By Barbara A. Schell, Glen Gillen, Marjorie
Scaffa, E. S. C. Willard and Spackman’s
Occupational Therapy 10th edition. (2003).
10.
Matsutsuyu, J. S. The interest check list. Am. J.
Occup. Ther. 23, 323–8
11.
Williams & Willkins. Model of human occupation:
Theory and application Kielhofner G. (1985).
12.
Nakamura-Thomas, H. & Yamada, T. Assessing
Interests in Japanese Elders: A Descriptive Study.
Occup. Ther. Heal. Care 22, 151–162 (2008).
13.
Nakamura T, Kikuchi E, Y. T. A study of relation
between activity choice and personal interests
in occupational therapy. Nikon Hoken Kagaku
Gakkaishi Nikon Hoke, 208–217 (2004).
14.
Wakamatsu K, T. K. Problem related to usage of
the NPI Interest Checklist. Sagyo Ryoho 11, 271
(1992).
15.
Yamada T, Ishii Y, N. R. Establishing the
activities for the Interest Checklist of Japanese
elderly version. Nihon Sagyo Kodo Kenkyu 6,
25–35
16.
The World Factbook — Central Intelligence
Agency. at <https://www.cia.gov/library/
publications/the-world-factbook/geos/jo.html>
17.
Krueger, R. A. & Casey, M. A. FOCUS GROUPS
3 rd Edition A Practical Guide for Applied
Research.
CopyrightofIndianJournalofPhysiotherapy&OccupationalTherapyisthepropertyofDr.
R.K.Sharmaanditscontentmaynotbecopiedoremailedtomultiplesitesorpostedtoa
listservwithoutthecopyrightholder'sexpresswrittenpermission.However,usersmayprint,
download,oremailarticlesforindividualuse.