The Time Organisation and Participation Scale (TOPS) was developed following
interviews and a thorough review of the literature. It was based on the
concepts presented by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2001) and the
person–environment occupation model (Law et al., 1996). Analysing how
people allocate their time to activities, places and interactions among
varied environments is an important issue, following the International Classification
of Function (ICF) suggested by the WHO (2001). The ICF is focused
on the concepts of the individual’s abilities, the activities performed by the
individual, the environments in which these activities are performed, and
the level of the individual’s participation as related to well-being. The
terms “activities” and “participation” are connected, and participation is conceptualised
within a person’s environment interaction (Hammel et al., 2008;
Perenboom & Chorus, 2003). Madden (2006) defined participation as involvement
in a life situation which includes being able to control one’s own life
and to fulfil personal goals and societal roles.