Informants Anna Nina Ole Bernt Nils Martin Susanne Job Title Occupational Therapist Outdoor educator Sports educator Sports educator Sports educator Sports educator Outdoor educator Clinical Experience with Facilitation Neurology and spinal cord injury Children; cerebral palsy and multi-functional disability Children and youths; cerebral palsy. Adults; amputated, multi-trauma and cancer. Neurology; stroke, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury Functional disorders and spinal cord injury Muscle and skeletal disorders, work - oriented rehabilitation and morbid obesity Muscle and skeletal disorders, work - oriented rehabilitation and morbid obesity Noah Albert Sports educator Sports educator Paralysis in lower extremity and hemiparesis, cerebral palsy, mental retarda- tion, impaired balance and physical challenges Blind, visually impaired, paralysis, amputations. Table 1: The Informants’ Fictive Names, Job Titles, and Clinical Experiences with Facilitation. setting, social interactions, and cultural attitudes, significantly shape a person’s level of activity. In facilitating water sports like canoeing and kay- aking for those with physical disabilities, the ICF emphasizes the need to consider all these aspects to improve participation, functionality, and overall health (33). OBJECTIVE This study seeks to expand our understanding of how water activities are made accessible to individ- uals with physical disabilities. It specifically inves- tigates insights and approaches of rehabilitation professionals within institutional settings as they facilitate canoeing and kayaking for this group. The guiding research question is: «How do rehabilitation professionals describe important factors in enabling canoeing and kayaking for individuals with physical disabilities?» Material and Methods METHOD AND DESIGN Aligned with the research question, we conduct- ed a qualitative study utilizing a phenomenologi- cal-hermeneutical research design (34). This design involves a reflective process integrating individuals’ expressed lifeworld experiences (phenomenology) with researchers’ pre-existing understanding and interpretation. This interplay aims to generate new insight and understanding of a phenomenon (her- meneutic). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, RECRUITMENT AND PARTICIPANTS To align with the research question, we defined the study’s eligibility criteria to include 1 rehabilitation professionals defined as occupa- tional- and physio- therapists and sports- and outdoor educators 2 employed at institutions operating at the special- ist healthcare level in Norway characterized by its responsibility for delivering specialized medical services, such as institution-based rehabilitation services 3 integrating canoeing or kayaking into their rou- tine therapeutic activities 4 having extended clinical experience with these activities for individuals with physical disabilities 5 be proficient in Norwegian 6 recruited from various health regions across the country Participants were purposely recruited from seven rehabilitation institutions that incorporate canoe/ kayak activities into their therapeutic programs. The directors of these institutions were briefed on the study’s objectives and were entrusted with the task of recruiting informants through direct, face-to-face interactions. Following this, the directors provided the second author with the informants’ contact details. Out of the nine professionals approached, all consented to participate. The participants included three women and six men, age ranging from 29 to 52, each with substantial and pertinent clinical expe- 34 Ergoterapeuten 2–2025
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