A health-promotion program for community-dwelling elderly through occupational records and dialogue

Abstract

A health-promotion program centered on occupational records and dialogue was conducted for six community-dwelling elderly. Upon conclusion of the program, all participants’ scores on the K-I Scale for the Feeling that Life is Worth Living and the Social Activities-Related Daily Life Satisfaction Scale were higher than before. Grip strength and 30-seconds chair-stand test scores also tended to be higher than before. One of the participants recorded and talked about diverse occupational experiences, such as working in the field, making dried persimmons, and visiting the cemetery. The participant also noticed the importance of having occupational plans and goals and felt that her occupational performance had improved. These results suggest that occupational records and dialogue may promote awareness of occupation, enhance occupational performance, and improve satisfaction with social participation, sense of life purpose, and motor functions.