Schuhmacher Tanya Pia, Andresen Mette, Fallahpour Mandana
Department of Allied Health, Division of Occupational Therapy, See-Spital Horgen, Zürich, Switzerland.
Department of Nutrition, Rehabilitation and Midwifery, Division of Occupational Therapy, University College Absalon, Naestved, Denmark.
Scand J Occup Ther. 2023 Jan;30(1):98-108. doi: 10.1080/11038128.2022.2112282. Epub 2022 Sep 9.
Research suggests that participation in activities has the potential to prevent or delay the development of later-life cognitive decline and dementia. This area is unexplored within occupational therapy.
To explore and describe the clinical reasoning of occupational therapists in selecting activities together with older adults with dementia to participate in, with the goal to postpone further development of cognitive decline in a sample from the German part of Switzerland.
A constructivist grounded theory approach was used. Six in-depth, semi-structured interviews with occupational therapists working in geriatric units in the German part of Switzerland were conducted.
Three main categories were identified: (i) from the discovery of 'who the older adult is' to the discovery of 'meaningful activities', (ii) reflecting on occupational therapists' individuality, and (iii) matching the activity to older adults' skills. A core category was developed: Pursuing active participation through meaningful and chosen activities.
The study suggests that to pursue enabling active participation in activities among older adults with dementia, and promoting the quality of participation, occupational therapists must consider the identified elements that are important in selecting the activities which might be used to postpone cognitive decline in each individual.
研究表明，参与活动有可能预防或延缓晚年认知衰退和痴呆症的发展。职业治疗领域尚未对此进行探索。
探讨并描述职业治疗师与患有痴呆症的老年人共同选择参与活动时的临床推理过程，目标是延缓瑞士德语区样本中认知衰退的进一步发展。
采用建构主义扎根理论方法。对瑞士德语区老年病房工作的职业治疗师进行了6次深入的半结构化访谈。
确定了三个主要类别：（i）从发现“老年人是谁”到发现“有意义的活动”，（ii）反思职业治疗师的个性，（iii）使活动与老年人的技能相匹配。形成了一个核心类别：通过有意义且自主选择的活动追求积极参与。
该研究表明，为了促使患有痴呆症的老年人积极参与活动并提高参与质量，职业治疗师必须考虑在选择可能用于延缓个体认知衰退的活动时所确定的重要因素。
