Department of Occupational Therapy, Bangladesh Health Professions Institute

1. Shamima Akter
B. Sc (Honours) in Occupational Therapy
& M. Sc in Rehabilitation Science
Assistant Professor,
Department of Occupational Therapy
Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI)
Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP)
Chapain, Savar

2. Context and environment
• Engagement and participation in occupation take
place within the social and physical environment
situated within context.
• In the literature, the terms environment and context
often are used interchangeably.
• In the Framework, both terms are used to reflect the
importance of considering the wide array of
interrelated variables that influence performance.
• Understanding the environments and contexts in
which occupations can and do occur provides
practitioners with insights into their overarching,
underlying, and embedded influences on
engagement.

3. Physical environment
• The physical environment refers to the natural (e.g.,
geographic terrain, plants) and built (e.g., buildings,
furniture) surroundings in which daily life
occupations occur.
• Physical environments can either support or present
barriers to participation in meaningful occupations.
• Examples of barriers include doorway widths that do
not allow for wheelchair passage or absence of
healthy social opportunities for people abstaining
from alcohol use.
• Conversely, environments can provide supports and
resources for service delivery (e.g., community,
health care facility, home).

4. Social environment
• The social environment consists of the presence
of, relationships with, and expectations of
persons, groups, and populations with whom
clients have contact (e.g., availability and
expectations of significant individuals, such as
spouse, friends, and caregivers).

5. Context
• The term context refers to elements within and
surrounding a client that are often less
tangible than physical and social environments
but nonetheless exert a strong influence on
performance.
• Contexts, as described in the Framework, are
cultural, personal, temporal, and virtual.

6. Cultural context
• The cultural context includes customs, beliefs,
activity patterns, behavioral standards, and
expectations accepted by the society of which a
client is a member.
• The cultural context influences the client’s identity
and activity choices, and practitioners must be
aware, for example, of norms related to eating or
deference to medical professionals when working
with someone from another culture and of
socioeconomic status when providing a discharge
plan for a young child and family.

7. Personal context
• Personal context refers to demographic
features of the individual, such as age, gender,
socioeconomic status, and educational level,
that are not part of a health condition.

8. Temporal context
• Temporal context includes stage of life, time of
day or year, duration or rhythm of activity, and
history.

9. Virtual context
• Virtual context refers to interactions that occur
in simulated, real-time, or near-time situations
absent of physical contact.
• The virtual context is becoming increasingly
important for clients as well as occupational
therapy practitioners and other health care
providers.

10. Contexts
Category Description Examples
Culture Customs, beliefs,
activity patterns,
behavioral standards,
and expectations
accepted by the
society of which a
client is a member.
The cultural context
influences the
client’s identity and
activity choices.
• Person: A person
delivering Thanksgiving
meals to home-bound
individuals
• Group: Employees
marking the end of the
work week with casual
dress on Friday
• Population: People
engaging in an afternoon
high tea

11. Contexts
Category Description Examples
Personal Features of the individual
that are not part of a
health condition or
health status” (WHO,
2001, p.17).
The personal context
includes age, gender,
socioeconomic status,
and educational status
and can also include
group membership (e.g.,
volunteers, employees)
and population
membership (e.g.,
members of society).
• Person: A 25-year-old
unemployed man with a high
school diploma
• Group: Volunteers working
in a homeless shelter
• Population: Older drivers
learning about community
mobility options

12. Contexts
Category Description Examples
Temporal The experience of time as
shaped by engagement in
occupations; the temporal
aspects of occupation that
“contribute to the patterns of
daily occupations” include
“rhythm ...tempo . .
.synchronization ...duration
...and sequence” (Larson &
Zemke, 2003, p.82; Zemke, 2004,
p.610).The temporal context
includes stage of life, time of day
or year, duration and rhythm of
activity, and history.
• Person: A person
retired from work for
10 years
• Group: A community
organization’s annual
fundraising campaign
• Population: People
celebrating
Independence Day on
26th March

13. Contexts
Category Description Examples
Virtual Environment in which
communication occurs by
means of airwaves or
computers and in the
absence of physical contact.
The virtual context includes
simulated, real-time, or
near-time environments
such as chat rooms, email,
video conferencing, or radio
transmissions; remote
monitoring via wireless
sensors; or computer-based
data collection.
• Person: Friends who text
message each other
• Group: Members who
participate in a video
conference, telephone
conference call, instant
message, or interactive white
board use
• Population: Virtual
community of gamers

14. Environments
Category Description Examples
Physical Natural and built
nonhuman surroundings
and the objects in them.
The natural environment
includes geographic terrain,
plants, and animals, as well
as the sensory qualities of
the surroundings.
The built environment
includes buildings,
furniture, tools, and
devices.
• Person:
Individual’s house or
apartment
• Group: Office
building or factory
• Population:
Transportation
system

15. Environments
Category Description Examples
Social Presence of, relationships with, and
expectations of persons, groups, or
populations with whom clients
have contact.
The social environment includes
availability and expectations of
significant individuals, such as
spouse, friends, and caregivers;
relationships with individuals,
groups, or populations; and
relationships with systems (e.g.,
political, legal, economic,
institutional) that influence norms,
role expectations, and social
routines.
• Person: Friends,
colleagues
• Group: Occupational
therapy students
conducting a class get-
together
• Population: People
influenced by a city
government