Consraints on Mobility in Large-Scale Spaces: The Costs of Occupational Engagement

Few researchers have clearly documented the importance of daily travel in the orchestration of daily occupations. This presentation will use examples from ongoing research as well as published studies to examine the nature of the constraints to large-scale mobility and the role they play in occupational engagement. The personal constraints, including inability to drive, language barriers, motor, perceptual and cognitive limitations as well as normal age-related changes, will be described. Environmental barriers in a variety of settings, as well as the ADA laws attempting to remove some of those barriers will be briefly reviewed. Some examples of interaction between personal and environmental factors will be presented. One of the examples will be the ways in which age-related changes in perceptual and motor functions as well as way-finding ability interact with environmental characteristics to create problems with independent mobility. In addition to research in the literature, several studies conducted in the context of my large-scale mobility research program will be given as examples. One of them was a qualitative study looking at the occupational adaptation of immigrant women (some of them refugees). Transportation was a recurring theme mentioned by those women when asked to describe challenges to their adaptation to life in the U.S. In another retrospective study, rural and urban seniors were compared in their occupational adaptation to the transition to not driving. In another project, we looked at seniors\u27 and disabled individuals\u27 experience with an ADA paratransit system and how it impacted their occupational needs. In the last two studies, participants were also asked to rate the value of various occupations. Currently, we are looking at architectural barriers in airports and seniors\u27 perspective on those barriers\u27 impact on mobility and travel. When describing these studies, emphasis will be given on the advantages of an occupational science approach when studying the effects of those constraints on large-scale mobility. For example, we found that the meaning of given occupations for individuals were linked to the type of adaptive strategies they used. Values of occupations also influenced the effects of transportation problems on their life-satisfaction. The occupational science approach also facilitates the identification of priorities in terms of intervention, both at the individual and public policy level. Some interventions we engaged in with transportation officials, seniors and disabled individuals will be highlighted and future directions discussed