重度認知症高齢者に対する熟練作業療法士の介入ストラテジーに関する探索的研究

Strategies for assisting people with severe dementia as told by experienced occupational therapists

要旨：本研究は，重度認知症高齢者に対する作業療法介入ストラテジーを探索することを目的とし，熟練作業療法士5名を対象にインタビューを行い，介入の考え方と方法や成長過程について分析し考察した．熟練作業療法士は，対象者に対する思いや信念をもち，作業療法の知識・技術を駆使し，試行錯誤して関わり続けていた．また仕事だけではない人生経験も大きな意味をもち，介入に良い影響を及ぼしていることが明らかになった．情報提供者の5名全員が，成長のために「言語化」が必要であると答えたことから，自ら介入を振り返る作業が，作業療法士の成長を促すことが示唆された．

　The purpose of this study is to develop strategies for helping people with severe dementia. Five experienced occupational therapists were asked about their approach to and reasoning behind helping people with severe dementia. These narratives were qualitatively analyzed and compiled into a report.

　The reasoning behind this report was to understand how occupational therapists develop on-going treatment and analysis. The results of the study revealed that experienced occupational therapists have a strong personal interest in helping their clients. The study also revealed that the life experience of the occupational therapists had a lot of bearing on the treatments they chose for their clients. All the occupational therapists agreed that documenting their treatments and the progress they made were beneficial. They recommended reflecting on these reports to improve future treatment.