Walking as a meaningful leisure occupation: the implications for occupational therapy

Walking is an easy everyday activity that most of us do automatically. However, recently, walking has been employed by health promotion strategists to improve the health of the general public, and used therapeutically in settings such as psychiatric services (McDevitt et al 2005, Richardson et al 2005). Studies have demonstrated its physiological and psychological benefits in alleviating depression in clinical and non-clinical populations (Richardson et al 2005, Dawson et al 2006, Roe and Aspinall 2011). Although the health benefits for physical activity have received increasing research attention, occupational benefits specific to walking are not well developed. Participating in leisure occupations enhances physical wellbeing, mental health and social functioning (Ball et al 2007), personal satisfaction and growth (Mosey 1996), as well as contributing to personal and social identity (Taylor 2003). Leisure is ‘a shared human experience engaged in for the purpose of amusement, relaxation or self-actualisation’ (Mosey 1996, p80). Leisure occupations have received heightened attention in occupational therapy (Di Bona 2000), perhaps due to providing wellness and health promotion in the community (Wilcock 1998, College of Occupational Therapists [COT] 2008). The benefits of leisure have been researched extensively (Taylor 2003, Ball et al 2007) but Di Bona (2000) recommended more research into leisure as an occupation to understand its potential benefits and to provide evidence to support its use in practice. Johnson (1996) believed that the more we understand how occupations maintain, enhance and promote health and wellbeing, the more we can put this knowledge into practice. Despite this, literature focusing specifically on the meaning of walking as a leisure occupation is limited. Walking as a meaningful leisure occupation: the implications for occupational therapy