Very old people's experience of occupational performance outside the home: possibilities and limitations
Author
Summary, in English
To support occupations outside the home for older people with functional limitations it is important to understand how the person, environment, and occupations influence performance. Therefore the purpose of this study was to describe how very old people experience occupational performance outside the home. Twenty-one single-living, very old persons, above 80 years, were strategically selected and interviewed. A phenomenographic approach was used for this study and the interviews were analyzed using contextual analysis. The findings showed a variation in the experience of occupational performance described in three referential aspects: keeping on doing as before, drawing on available resources, and living in constrained circumstances. Referring to everyday occupations the participants described how they continued to do what they had done before, but decline in functional capacity made it more difficult to overcome environmental barriers. They also described how they sometimes could put functional limitations aside and use their utmost capacity to reach their goals. When they could not do that any more, they had to find possibilities for occupations close to home. In order to support very old people's occupational performance outside the home, outdoor mobility has to be facilitated, including the design of the physical environment as well as possibilities for social interaction.
Department/s
Publishing year
2007
Language
English
Pages
77-85
Publication/Series
Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy
Volume
14
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Topic
- Occupational Therapy
Status
Published
Project
- Home, Health and Disability along the Process of Ageing
Research group
- Sustainable occupations and health in a life course perspective
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1651-2014