Department of Occupational Therapy, Bergen University College, Bergen, Norway.
Disabil Rehabil. 2011;33(25-26):2479-89. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2011.575525. Epub 2011 May 5.
The primary aim of the study was to explore how people with a disability experience participation in society. A secondary aim was to contribute to the understanding of the concept of participation in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
Six people with disabilities participated in focus group discussions. The data were analysed following the guidelines for the constant comparative method.
Three main categories emerged with regard to the participants' experiences of participation in society. These included: (1) being engaged, (2) being a member of society and (3) interacting as a citizen. Furthermore, a sense of 'climbing up and sliding down the participation ladder' emerged as a core category of participation. This image reflected the dynamic interaction between individual and society; between, on one hand, an individual' attitude, engagement, motivation, interest and capacity, as well as their sense of responsibility vis-a-vis an activity or a social group; and, on the other hand, the opportunities that society and their immediate social worlds offer them.
The fact that participants experience social participation as 'climbing up and sliding down the participation ladder' is important as it enables service providers, managers and policy makers to identify which intrapersonal and environmental factors operate together to limit or enhance the social participation of people with disabilities. This also implies that there is a need for a committed relationship in issues concerning participation for all in society, between people with disabilities and urban planners, and service providers. Findings also imply that participation means being autonomous and making decisions about one's own life and that the subjective dimension of participation must be considered in the revision of the ICF model. Another consideration is to separate activity and participation into two dimensions; i.e. to render more visible the fact that participation is related to environmental, as well as to personal, factors.
本研究的主要目的是探讨残疾人如何体验社会参与。次要目的是根据《国际功能、残疾和健康分类》（ICF）理解参与的概念。
6 名残疾人参加了焦点小组讨论。数据按照恒定性比较方法的指导进行分析。
参与者对社会参与的体验出现了三个主要类别。这些类别包括：（1）参与感，（2）社会成员身份，（3）作为公民的互动。此外，出现了一种“爬上和滑下参与阶梯”的感觉，这是参与的核心类别。这种形象反映了个体与社会之间的动态互动；一方面是个人的态度、参与度、动机、兴趣和能力，以及他们对活动或社会群体的责任感；另一方面是社会及其直接社会环境为他们提供的机会。
参与者将社会参与体验为“爬上和滑下参与阶梯”，这一点很重要，因为它使服务提供者、管理者和政策制定者能够识别哪些内在和环境因素共同作用，限制或增强残疾人的社会参与。这也意味着，在残疾人与城市规划者和服务提供者之间，需要在所有关于参与的问题上建立一种承诺关系。研究结果还意味着，参与意味着自主并对自己的生活做出决策，而且必须在修订 ICF 模型时考虑参与的主观维度。另一个考虑因素是将活动和参与分为两个维度，即更清楚地表明参与与环境因素以及个人因素有关。
