Community-Based Occupational Therapy to Enhance Social Participation and Justice for Syrian Refugees in Turkey

What this Trial Is About

This study investigates how a community-based occupational therapy program can improve occupational justice, daily life participation, occupational performance, satisfaction, and overall functioning among Syrian refugees living in Turkey. Refugees often face social, economic, and environmental challenges that limit their meaningful daily activities and affect their autonomy and sense of belonging. The research aims to address these barriers through interventions that promote social participation, access to community resources, and occupational justice. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups. The intervention group receives a five-week community-based occupational therapy program consisting of ten group sessions focused on meaningful daily activities, social participation, empowerment, and access to community resources. This program is delivered in real-life community settings by an occupational therapist using activity-based learning and group discussions. The control group receives a single informational session about daily life and available services in Turkey without occupational therapy content. Throughout the study, participants complete assessments before and immediately after the intervention period to measure changes in occupational justice, occupational performance and satisfaction, participation, and overall functioning. Standardized tools such as the Occupational Justice Scale for Refugees, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 are used. The study involves 16 adult Syrian refugees and is expected to provide evidence on the effectiveness of community-based occupational therapy for promoting participation and well-being in refugee populations.

Community-Based Occupational Therapy for Syrian Refugees to Improve Social Participation and Occupational Justice