Perceptions of occupations in everyday life among EU citizens begging in Sweden

Background: Poor people from EU member states, begging in order to sustain themselves, have become common in Swedish city centers. The phenomenon has been much debated but insufficient knowledge exists about the EU citizens’... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Poor people from EU member states, begging in order to sustain themselves, have become common in Swedish city centers. The phenomenon has been much debated but insufficient knowledge exists about the EU citizens’ own perceptions of their situation (Uliczka, 2015). The aim of this study is to describe the perceptions of everyday life occupations in people having experience from begging in Sweden.

Method:
The qualitative study will be conducted in cooperation with a local NGO and adult participants from EU member states, with experience from begging in Sweden, will be interviewed individually about their everyday occupations.

Results:
The results are expected to provide insights in the perceptions of everyday life and occupations from the begging persons’ own perspective, which is knowledge that is currently lacking. Some of the results will be presented at COTEC.

Conclusion:
Increased knowledge about everyday life and its occupations in begging people from EU member states would be valuable for planning useful interventions for this population.

Application to Practice:
This population may benefit from interventions provided by the occupational therapy profession aiming to enable health and well-being through occupations. However, to form these interventions it is of importance to know how begging people perceive their everyday life and its occupations.

References
Uliczka H. (2015). Inventering av forskning och kunskap rörande FEAD:s målgrupper - resultat och reflektioner. [Inventing the research and knowledge regarding the target populations of FEAD – result and reflections]. Europan Union.