Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Boredom and homelessness : A scoping review

Marshall, Carrie Anne ; Roy, Laurence ; Becker, Alyssa ; Nguyen, Melanie ; Barbic, Skye ; Tjörnstrand, Carina LU ; Gewurtz, Rebecca and Wickett, Sarah (2020) In Journal of Occupational Science 27(1). p.107-124
Abstract

Background: Emerging literature suggests that boredom is a frequent problem experienced by homeless persons that may influence their health and well-being. Purpose: The range and breadth of literature exploring boredom among homeless persons is unknown. We initiated this study to fill this gap in existing literature. Method: Using the method advanced by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), and furthered by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien (2010), we carried out a scoping review to identify the range and breadth of literature exploring boredom among homeless persons. Two independent raters screened titles and abstracts and evaluated full-text articles against a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria established by all authors. A descriptive analysis and... (More)

Background: Emerging literature suggests that boredom is a frequent problem experienced by homeless persons that may influence their health and well-being. Purpose: The range and breadth of literature exploring boredom among homeless persons is unknown. We initiated this study to fill this gap in existing literature. Method: Using the method advanced by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), and furthered by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien (2010), we carried out a scoping review to identify the range and breadth of literature exploring boredom among homeless persons. Two independent raters screened titles and abstracts and evaluated full-text articles against a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria established by all authors. A descriptive analysis and inductive narrative synthesis were performed. Findings: Our search yielded 4536 citations following the removal of duplicates. A total of 17 articles were included in our descriptive analysis and narrative synthesis. Five themes emerged from the included studies: Boredom as a feature of the homeless experience; Coping with boredom; Impact of boredom; Environment as a determinant of boredom; and Interventions for boredom. Only two of the included articles focused on boredom as a central construct, with all others identifying boredom as an experience of homeless persons while investigating related phenomena. Implications: Boredom is a critical topic of study for occupational science, and specifically as it relates to disadvantaged populations. Future research exploring the specific impacts of boredom on homeless persons, and research identifying and evaluating interventions to effectively reduce boredom in this population are needed.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Boredom, Homeless persons, Human activities, Occupation, Occupational science, Poverty
in
Journal of Occupational Science
volume
27
issue
1
pages
18 pages
publisher
School of Occupational Therapy
external identifiers
  • scopus:85063783629
ISSN
1442-7591
DOI
10.1080/14427591.2019.1595095
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9620f3ef-dfa1-4b53-8665-67efd3928bbc
date added to LUP
2019-04-23 14:16:18
date last changed
2022-07-12 07:18:50
@article{9620f3ef-dfa1-4b53-8665-67efd3928bbc,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Emerging literature suggests that boredom is a frequent problem experienced by homeless persons that may influence their health and well-being. Purpose: The range and breadth of literature exploring boredom among homeless persons is unknown. We initiated this study to fill this gap in existing literature. Method: Using the method advanced by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), and furthered by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien (2010), we carried out a scoping review to identify the range and breadth of literature exploring boredom among homeless persons. Two independent raters screened titles and abstracts and evaluated full-text articles against a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria established by all authors. A descriptive analysis and inductive narrative synthesis were performed. Findings: Our search yielded 4536 citations following the removal of duplicates. A total of 17 articles were included in our descriptive analysis and narrative synthesis. Five themes emerged from the included studies: Boredom as a feature of the homeless experience; Coping with boredom; Impact of boredom; Environment as a determinant of boredom; and Interventions for boredom. Only two of the included articles focused on boredom as a central construct, with all others identifying boredom as an experience of homeless persons while investigating related phenomena. Implications: Boredom is a critical topic of study for occupational science, and specifically as it relates to disadvantaged populations. Future research exploring the specific impacts of boredom on homeless persons, and research identifying and evaluating interventions to effectively reduce boredom in this population are needed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Marshall, Carrie Anne and Roy, Laurence and Becker, Alyssa and Nguyen, Melanie and Barbic, Skye and Tjörnstrand, Carina and Gewurtz, Rebecca and Wickett, Sarah}},
  issn         = {{1442-7591}},
  keywords     = {{Boredom; Homeless persons; Human activities; Occupation; Occupational science; Poverty}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{107--124}},
  publisher    = {{School of Occupational Therapy}},
  series       = {{Journal of Occupational Science}},
  title        = {{Boredom and homelessness : A scoping review}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2019.1595095}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/14427591.2019.1595095}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}