Research Opportunities in the Area of Productive Aging

Abstract

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Evidence-Based Practice Project has developed a table summarizing the research opportunities in the area of productive aging. The table provides an overview of the state of current available evidence on interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice and is based on the systematic reviews from the AOTA Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines Series. Researchers, students, and clinicians can use this information in developing innovative research to answer important questions within the occupational therapy field.

Keywords

aged evidence-based practice occupational therapy research

Planning a research project requires consideration of many factors. Level of interest and knowledge in a specific area, access to appropriate populations of participants, support of mentors and other researchers, and funding availability all help determine the focus of a future project. An additional component to be considered is whether adequate, up-to-date research has already been completed on a topic; if sufficient evidence is available in a given core area, this area might not be the best choice for another research project.

The best research topic may be one in which either little research has been done or the research to date is insufficient, inconclusive, or mixed. In addition, when research conducted to date provides a low level of evidence and is of limited quality, additional high-quality research in the area is needed.

The Research Opportunities Table on Productive Aging provides an overview of the state of current available evidence on interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice. The table is based on the systematic reviews from the AOTA Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines Series. The evidence from the reviews is categorized into the themes of instrumental activities of daily living, fall prevention and home modification, and health management and maintenance. Within each theme, the table indicates either that the evidence is sufficient to support an intervention or that moderate, mixed, or few studies support the intervention and therefore it is a priority research area. Please refer to Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Productive Aging for Community-Dwelling Older Adults (Leland, Elliott, & Johnson, 2012) and the American Journal of Occupational Therapy Special Issue on the Relationship Between Occupation and Productive Aging (Leland & Elliott, 2012) for more information on the topic area and the systematic review process.

This table also is posted online for researchers to use to inform the occupational therapy community about their work. The table is linked to Google Drive and offers a place for researchers to include information on recently completed and ongoing research. It is hoped that this information will make the research planning process easier, minimize duplication of research efforts, and stimulate discussions among researchers with similar interests, which can then facilitate the creation of research networks and multisite studies. Researchers, students, and clinicians can use this information in developing innovative research to answer important questions within the occupational therapy field. To add current or ongoing research to the table, visit http://www.aota.org/researchopportunitiestables.

Researchers are also encouraged to enter their projects into AOTA’s Researcher Database at http://myaota.aota.org/research/. This database provides AOTA with information such as relevant clinical settings and populations, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health level (World Health Organization, 2001), funder (if any), and key words to help guide research advocacy and policy initiatives.

Research Opportunities Table on Productive Aging

Theme	Definition	Specific Intervention	Strength of Evidence
IADLs
Occupation-based and client-centered interventions
Multidisciplinary interventions	Interventions provided by more than one discipline and targeting several outcomes (e.g., ADLs, IADLs)	Home-based multicomponent program (including occupational therapy) in older adults with differing functional abilities	Research sufficient
Multidisciplinary interventions		Multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation to improve function in older adults with low vision	Priority research area
Occupational therapy interventions	Interventions provided by occupational therapy practitioners or within the scope of occupational therapy practice	Client-centered occupational therapy programs such as Lifestyle Redesign	Priority research area
Occupational therapy interventions		Occupation-centered interventions in the home for community-dwelling older adults	Priority research area
Functional activity interventions
Functional task exercise programs	Exercise involving functional activities	Exercises such as transporting objects and moving objects from differing heights while walking	Priority research area
Simulated IADL programs	Activities designed to mimic the performance of daily functional tasks (e.g., laundry, vacuuming)	Simulated IADL programs	Priority research area
Performance skills interventions
Physical activity intervention	General or specific exercise programs (e.g., resistance training, aerobics, balance training, flexibility exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness, tai chi, general physical activity sessions)	Progressive resistance strength training to improve community mobility and meal preparation	Priority research area
		Physical activity to improve self-efficacy, promote satisfaction with physical function, and increase time spent on activities of moderate or greater intensity	Priority research area
		Physical conditioning to improve driving performance	Priority research area
		Long-term physical exercise to improve community mobility	Priority research area
		Physical activity to improve IADL performance	Priority research area
		Weight training to improve walking performance	Priority research area
Cognitive skill intervention	Training in memory, inductive reasoning, speed of processing	Cognitive skill training to improve daily functioning for community-dwelling older adults	Priority research area
Interventions for older adults with low vision	Vision rehabilitation	Multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation to improve function in older adults with low vision	Priority research area
Home modification and assistive technology	Interventions related to external physical environments (e.g., home adaptations) and the objects in them (e.g., assistive technology)	Home modifications to improve IADL performance	Priority research area
Interventions supporting participation in driving	Interventions addressing driving performance skills (e.g., motor, praxis, visual skills) and education	Physical conditioning to improve driving performance	Priority research area
		Short-term classroom and on-road instruction to improve driving knowledge	Priority research area
		Visual skills training, community mobility programs, and vehicle adaptations to improve driving performance	Priority research area
Fall prevention and home modification
Multicomponent or multifactorial interventions	Interventions that integrate multiple fall risk factors or target specific risk factors. These include home modification, vision management, gait and balance training, and exercise.	Multicomponent or multifactorial intervention addressing multiple risk factors to reduce falls	Research sufficient
Multicomponent or multifactorial interventions		Home safety assessment to reduce falls in older adults with visual impairment	Priority research area
Physical activity interventions	Group and individual physical activity (e.g., balance retraining, walking, sitting and standing, lower-extremity strengthening, use of workstation format, tai chi)	Physical activity (regardless of type) to reduce falls and decrease fall risk	Priority research area
Physical activity interventions		Strengthening, balance retraining, and walking plan to reduce falls and injuries for adults age >80 yr	Priority research area
Home assessment and home modification	Hazard identification; home modifications, including structural changes to the inside and outside of the home; assistive technology and assistive devices	Home modification and adaptive equipment provided by occupational therapy practitioners to reduce functional decline and improve safety	Research sufficient
		Occupational therapy assessment followed by home modification for older adults with a history of falls	Priority research area
		Home modification for older adults aging with a disability to reduce perceived difficulty with ADLs and IADLs	Priority research area
		Home safety assessment to prevent falls in older adults with visual impairment	Priority research area
Health management and maintenance
Client-centered occupational therapy programs	Interventions provided by occupational therapy practitioners or within the scope of occupational therapy practice	Client-centered occupational therapy to improve physical functioning and occupational performance related to health management in frail older adults and older adults with osteoarthritis and macular degeneration	Research sufficient
Health education programs	Interventions to educate older adults about health issues	Group health education programs led by educators and other health professionals	Priority research area
Self-management programs	Collaboration between an older adult and a health care professional to develop a plan for self-management of health on the basis of the client’s goals and preferences	Self-management health programs individually tailored in conjunction with health professionals	Priority research area
Self-management programs		Peer-led self-management programs that include diagnosis-specific information, medication management, and problem-solving skills	Priority research area
Specific performance skill interventions	Interventions to improve specific health-related performance skills	Cognitive–behavioral intervention for improving adherence to a physical activity program	Priority research area
		Cognitive–behavioral intervention for improving sleep in older adults with insomnia	Priority research area
		Community-based health management program combined with skills training for community-dwelling older adults with severe mental illness	Priority research area

Note. ADLs = activities of daily living; IADLs = instrumental activities of daily living.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

AOTA acknowledges the work of Matthew Bernardo, Stacia Matthews, and Melissa Stutzbach, who participated in the development of the Research Opportunities tables while they were fieldwork students and emerging leaders at the American Occupational Therapy Association in Bethesda, MD. This work is based on the American Journal of Occupational Therapy Special Issue on the Relationship Between Occupation and Productive Aging (Leland & Elliott, 2012) and the Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Productive Aging for Community-Dwelling Older Adults (Leland, Elliott, & Johnson, 2012), all from the AOTA Evidence-Based Practice Project.

References

Leland

, & Elliott

S. J.

(Eds.). (2012). Relationship between occupation and productive aging [Special issue]. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66(3).

Leland

Elliott

S. J.

, & Johnson

K. J.

(2012). Occupational therapy practice guidelines for productive aging for community-dwelling older adults. Bethesda, MD: AOTA Press.

World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health. Geneva: Author.