Struggling for Occupational Satisfaction: Older People in Care Homes

Abstract

In the United Kingdom, a wide range of health care reforms has been introduced to enhance the wellbeing of older people. These reforms should ensure that both the public and the private sectors deliver best practice to older people. The role of the occupational therapist with older people is well established in a variety of health and social care settings but there is a noticeable absence of input in care homes, despite evidence that has demonstrated the importance of occupations for wellbeing. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used in a research study to determine the types of occupation that seven older people perceived as important, their perceptions of their performance and their perceived level of satisfaction. It was found that these older people most valued leisure and self-care occupations, although occupations related to productivity were also cited. A perceived high performance rating often transferred to a high satisfaction rating and a perceived low performance rating to a low satisfaction rating. The challenge for occupational therapists is to implement occupation-based therapy that meets all the needs of older people. Furthermore, there is a requirement to develop the evidence base and to look at strategies to promote occupation in order to ensure occupational satisfaction for all.