Lilja Margareta, Bergh Anders, Johansson Lennarth, Nygård Louise
Department of Neurotec, Occupational Therapy Division, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Occup Ther Int. 2003;10(1):75-93. doi: 10.1002/oti.178.
This study aimed to survey the attitudes of elderly people with disabilities who were living at home regarding their support from assistive technology and the social environment. These attitudes were compared with their identified needs by an occupational therapist and in relation to perception of social engagement, loneliness and overall contentment with life. From a sample of 102 participants who were interviewed using a standardized procedure, 53 persons were included in the study. The results indicated that attitudes among elderly people towards social and occupational engagement and change have a greater influence on their rehabilitation status than their disability as indicated by their health condition and limitations in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. The elderly people who accepted rehabilitation were more able, and were better equipped and better supported with assistive technology, than those who declined rehabilitation. Rehabilitation needs that the occupational therapists recognized were not always shared by the disabled elderly people, for several reasons; one reason of particular importance was the elderly person's attitude towards change and social engagement. However, the small sample size limits the generalization of the findings to the population of elderly people with disabilities. An ethnographic research design that allows for repeated interviews and observations of elderly people with disabilities for a prolonged period of time in their ordinary everyday lives may present an avenue for future research and lead to a deeper understanding of the issues.
本研究旨在调查居家残疾老年人对辅助技术和社会环境所提供支持的态度。将这些态度与职业治疗师确定的他们的需求进行比较，并与他们对社会参与、孤独感和总体生活满意度的认知相关联。在102名采用标准化程序接受访谈的参与者样本中，53人被纳入研究。结果表明，老年人对社会和职业参与及变化的态度，比其健康状况以及日常生活活动和工具性日常生活活动中的限制所表明的残疾状况，对其康复状况的影响更大。接受康复治疗的老年人比拒绝康复治疗的老年人更有能力，在辅助技术方面配备更好且得到更好的支持。职业治疗师认可的康复需求，残疾老年人并不总是认同，原因有几个；一个特别重要的原因是老年人对变化和社会参与的态度。然而，样本量较小限制了研究结果向残疾老年人群体的推广。一种人种志研究设计，允许在残疾老年人的日常生活中对其进行长时间的反复访谈和观察，可能为未来的研究提供一条途径，并有助于更深入地理解这些问题。
