Focus on occupational therapists' paradigms

The primary aim of this study was to identify and characterize the perceptions of seven experienced occupational therapists' about their profession, in particular with respect to a 'world view' and a 'field of action view'. The secondary aim was to determine whether there were similarities among the respondents' personal paradigms that could constitute a potential, local ideology for the group. The study has an explorative design based on Törnebohm's theory of paradigms. Qualitative data were collected on three occasions during the autumn of 1996, using audio- and video-taped, thematic discussions, involving focus groups. The data were analysed qualitatively within the two paradigm components, 'world view' and 'field of action view'. The results show several unifying factors, and dissimilarities were limited to specifications within these unifying factors, with respect to the respondents' notions. The unifying factors could be described as a potential, local ideology for the group.