Neuro-occupation: A self-organizing approach to conflate the brain, context, and occupation

Abstract

Background. Neuro-occupation was coined to conflate three distinctly different concepts: the brain, context, and occupation. Discussing neuro-occupation has been more of an academic exercise rather than cogently researched for everyday practice, perhaps due to the seemingly incongruity among the concepts. Purpose. This article traces the self-organization approach, an assumption of complex systems, to understand how the concepts can be conflated. Method. Deductive category application, a qualitative descriptive method for tracing theoretical assumptions, was drawn from the lived experiences of 11 Iranian participants with cerebrovascular accidents. Matrix construction aided collection of data for analysis. Findings. The self-organization approach, underpinning neuro-occupation, was shown to be traceable, explaining how occupational participation may be influenced by the brain circular causality and perturbations provided by the context. Implications. By understanding the dynamics of self-organization, occupational therapists can identify and create salient features that may motivate and enable clients to enhance occupational participation.