Promotion of Human Development in Daily Life Contexts

The goal of this research area is to study the interventions in Occupational Therapy, in the contexts of people's daily life throughout their life cycles, from the point of view of human development, contemplating processes of functionality and disability, as well as risk factors.

The epistemological foundations of this research area come from Health, Education and Occupational Therapy and are based on studies of neurobiological, cognitive and psychosocial bases of human development to support research projects that seeks: to understand how human activity or occupation and how the environment interfere in the promotion of healthy development, people’s participation and engagement in daily life, occupational performance, independence and autonomy, within a perspective aimed at developing skills and opportunities for social inclusion.

It makes use of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods. Research is aimed at creating social technologies, therapeutic resources and interventions that facilitate and enable the development, the occupational performance and the engagement in meaningful occupations in different everyday contexts, in situations of temporary or permanent impairments, seeking to promote improvement in quality of life. 

Faculties responsible for the projects in this research are: 

• Claudia Maria Simões Martinez
• Débora Couto de Melo Carrijo
• Luciana Bolzan Agnelli Martinez
• Luzia Iara Pfeifer
• Mirela de Oliveira Figueiredo
• Patrícia Carla de Souza Della Barba
• Regina H. V. Torkomian Joaquim
• Tatiana Barbieri Bombarda