Occupational concerns of women who are homeless and have children: an occupational justice critique.

SUMMARY The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe the occupational goals and concerns of women who are homeless with children. Twenty-seven women with children living in homeless shelters completed interviews using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). Occupational issues and concerns were identified for each participant, and then they were pooled. A total of 169 occupational concerns were described and analyzed. The most common occupational issues identified by participants concerned finances, employment, education, transportation, housing, time for self, personal appearance, home management, and parenting. Analysis of identified occupational concerns suggests that the homeless women with children experienced a range of institutional and social barriers to occupational participation: essentially a form of occupational injustice. This study raises questions concerning the most effective roles for occupational therapists to facilitate empowerment so that women who are homeless may fully participate in the communities where they live.