Fogel-Grinvald Haya, Maeir Adina, Golos Anat
Haya Fogel-Grinvald, Msc, is Biostatistician, Researcher, and Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, School of Occupational Therapy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel;
Adina Maeir, PhD, OTR, is Occupational Therapist, Researcher, and Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, School of Occupational Therapy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Am J Occup Ther. 2025 Jan 1;79(1). doi: 10.5014/ajot.2025.050727.
Engagement in meaningful activities (EMA) is a central determinant of older adults' health and quality of life (QoL) and is a concern of occupational therapy.
To examine the impact of EMA on QoL among community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore their subjective experiences of the pandemic's impact on their perceived health.
Cross-sectional mixed-methods design (quantitative and qualitative).
Community-dwelling older adults during the fourth to sixth waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel.
Older adults (N = 302) age 65 and older not hospitalized in the last month.
Four questionnaires were used for the quantitative analysis: Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS), World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire for Anxiety and Depression, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Three open-ended questions regarding COVID-19's impact on perceived health and QoL were analyzed qualitatively.
EMAS scores correlated with perceived health and WHOQOL-BREF scores, explaining an additional 13% of the WHOQOL-BREF variance above and beyond sociodemographic and perceived health scores (which explained 47% of WHOQOL-BREF's variance). Four themes emerged from the structured tabular thematic approach for brief texts: changes in activities, mental and physical health changes, defining health and QoL through changes in participation, and COVID-19-associated environmental barriers.
EMA contributed significantly to older adults' QoL and perceived health during the pandemic and was also evident in participants' definitions of health and QoL via changes in their activities. Plain-Language Summary: This study provides insight into engagement in meaningful activities (EMA) as a potential way to improve the quality of life of older adults during times of crisis. The study examined the impact of EMA on quality of life among community-dwelling older adults during COVID-19. The authors used questionnaires to explore the older adults' experiences of the pandemic's effect on their health. The study broadens understanding of how COVID-19 affected activity patterns among older adults, including changes in the frequency and manner of their engagement in various activities, as well as EMA's impact on how they perceived their health and quality of life.
参与有意义的活动（EMA）是老年人健康和生活质量（QoL）的核心决定因素，也是职业治疗关注的问题。
研究EMA对新冠疫情期间社区居住老年人生活质量的影响，并探讨他们对疫情对其感知健康影响的主观体验。
横断面混合方法设计（定量和定性）。
以色列新冠疫情第四至六波期间的社区居住老年人。
年龄在65岁及以上且上个月未住院的老年人（N = 302）。
四份问卷用于定量分析：有意义活动参与度调查（EMAS）、世界卫生组织生活质量量表（WHOQOL-BREF）、四项焦虑和抑郁患者健康问卷以及一份社会人口学问卷。对关于新冠疫情对感知健康和生活质量影响的三个开放式问题进行了定性分析。
EMAS得分与感知健康和WHOQOL-BREF得分相关，在社会人口学和感知健康得分之外，还额外解释了WHOQOL-BREF变异的13%（社会人口学和感知健康得分解释了WHOQOL-BREF变异的47%）。从简短文本的结构化表格主题方法中出现了四个主题：活动变化、身心健康变化、通过参与变化定义健康和生活质量以及与新冠疫情相关的环境障碍。
EMA在疫情期间对老年人的生活质量和感知健康有显著贡献，并且在参与者通过活动变化对健康和生活质量的定义中也很明显。
本研究深入探讨了参与有意义的活动（EMA）作为在危机时期改善老年人生活质量的一种潜在方式。该研究考察了EMA对新冠疫情期间社区居住老年人生活质量的影响。作者使用问卷来探究老年人对疫情对其健康影响的体验。该研究拓宽了对新冠疫情如何影响老年人活动模式的理解，包括他们参与各种活动的频率和方式的变化，以及EMA对他们如何感知自身健康和生活质量的影响。
