Date Presented 03/26/20
This study suggests that older adults in assisted living face a decline in meaningful leisure participation. OT practitioners can play a vital role in easing the transition into assisted living by ensuring that residents are still able to partake in their meaningful occupations, despite changes to their environment, social supports, or physical abilities. OT practitioners can also provide consultation to ensure that the activities offered meet the needs of the individuals and the community.
Primary Author and Speaker: Lisa Knecht-Sabres
Contributing Authors: Erica Del Rosario, Amanda Erb, Malgorzata Rozko
INTRODUCTION & PURPOSE: Older adults face a variety of physical, emotional, and environmental challenges as they age which often prompts a move into a more supported living option. Assisted living facilities are one of the fastest growing living options for older adults (Aging in Place Initiative, 2010). When older adults leave their homes and move into assisted living, they may experience a plethora of changes, including changes in their valued roles and meaningful leisure pursuits. For some, these changes can lead to a decline in health or psychosocial complications (Potter, 2009). To date, research has focused on the characteristics of assisted living facilities and the factors that necessitated a change in residence. Unfortunately, the experience of the residents has been left relatively unexamined (Mulry, 2012). Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore if there was a change in leisure participation among older adults after transitioning into assisted living.
DESIGN: Both quantitative and qualitative data were utilized to explore the impact of transitioning into an assisted living facility on leisure participation. This allowed the researchers to determine which specific leisure activities were maintained or decreased and it enabled the researchers to obtain a better understanding of the residents’ perceived supports and barriers impacting leisure engagement.
METHODS: Quantitative data was collected through the administration of the Activity Card Sort (Baum & Edwards, 2008) Version B (modified). Descriptive statistics were used to determine if the transition into an assisted living facility affected the amount and type of participation in leisure activities. Qualitative data was gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews to explore and better understand the supports and barriers to leisure pursuits in assisted living. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Researchers individually immersed themselves in the data to begin to find patterns (Braun & Clark, 2006). Next, researchers individually generated initial codes from the data. Data analysis meetings with all researchers were used to identify patterns in the data, to reduce and group codes and identify themes. Data was re-coded until consensus was reached. Rigor was enhanced through peer and expert-reviews, multiple coders, and triangulation (Morse, 2015).
RESULTS: Participants engaged in only 34.13% of the activities they participated in prior to moving into an assisted living facility; 42% of the participants engaged in a new leisure activity after moving into assisted living. Four themes emerged concerning supports and barriers: physical abilities, social supports, available resources, and personal influences.
CONCLUSION: Older adults in assisted living face a decline in engagement in meaningful leisure participation due to multi-faceted factors, including, but not limited to: decreased abilities, lack of social supports and physical resources, as well as a variety of personal influences. Even though assisted living facilities may offer a plethora of activities, the results of this study suggest that the offerings may not match all of the residents’ interests and preferences.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapy practitioners are well-suited to address these concerns. Occupational therapy practitioners can serve a role in easing the transition for older adults into assisted living by ensuring that they are still able to partake in their individual and meaningful occupations, despite physical changes and/or changes to their environment and social supports. Occupational therapy practitioners may also consult with assisted living facilities to ensure that offerings of activities meet the individual needs and needs of the community.
References
Mulry, C. M. (2012). Transitions to assisted living: A pilot study of residents’ occupational perspectives. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 30(4), 328-343.
Potter, G. (2009). Transitions Experienced in Later Life. (Master’s thesis, University of Victoria). Retrieved from http://nursing.uvic.ca/research/documents/PotterGail.pdf
Morse, J. (2015). Critical Analysis of Strategies for Determining Rigor in Qualitative Inquiry. Qualitative Health Research, 25(9):1212-22. doi: 10.1177/1049732315588501
Aging in Place Initiative. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.aginginplaceinitiative.org.
