Review

Prepared by Cathryn Grant

AN INTEGRATED LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE CURRENT DISCOURSE AROUND UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT – IS OCCUPATION THE MISSING LINK?

Authors: Valerie Watchorn, Danielle Hitch, Cathryn Grant, Richard Tucker, Kathryn Aedy, Susan Ang and Patsie Frawley

Published online: 17/05/2019

Journal: Disability and Rehabilitation, 2021, Volume 43, No.1 , p.1-12

This research aimed to explore the current universal design (UD) literature with regards to the built environment and the promotion of social participation.

Method:

Thirty-three articles met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed as a part of this integrated review. The Person-Environment-Occupation model, a model of practice used by Occupational Therapists was used, to analyse the articles.

Discussion:

Most articles were from Northern America or Europe, and a range of study methods were found (including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.)

Overall, most of the discourse related to the person and the environment components of the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model. This is not surprising as UD was initially focused on the removal of physical barriers to enable access to buildings (Environment) for people with a disability (Person). The O – Occupation is less discussed ie: what activity is going to be done in the building. There was however brief examples within the literature of the integration of Person-Environment-Occupation, for example people with a specific disability (Person) prefer a certain environmental design (Environment) to support the completing a task (Occupation).

The article concludes that increasing the focus on the occupations that people perform in built environments may assist in achieving the ideal of UD including increased social participation and wellness. A wider range of perspectives (culturally, professionally/disciplinary and user) will also enrich the current discussion and understanding of UD.