Uncovering the experiences of engaging in an inpatient occupation-based group program: The LifeSkills group

Consumer engagement is an important element for developing and maintaining value-based healthcare standards. Occupation-based practice in the context of a group has been adopted by inpatient rehabilitation clinicians, but little research has explored if these groups are valuable and useful to patients.

To explore the experiences of patients participating in an occupation-based group intervention for instrumental activities of daily living to understand its value and usefulness in an inpatient rehabilitation setting.

Interpretive description guided the development of the study. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 15 participants of an occupation-based group, the LifeSkills group. Comparative analysis was used to analyse the data and develop themes.

Five themes were reported by participants: choice and control, confidence through doing, a real-world connection, the power of the therapeutic relationship and the impact of the shared experience.

In line with current rehabilitation literature, patient experiences around client-centredness, occupational engagement in a 'real-world' environment, and valued relationships can be facilitated through an occupation-based group. This study supports the implementation of valued-based healthcare in understanding patient perceptions of occupation-based interventions into rehabilitation; ensuring that the right intervention is being used at the right time for the right patient.