As the number of baby boomers reaching old age is increasing a lot of focus is being placed on aging successfully. While every person’s aging cycle is unique, studies have shown that engaging in meaningful activities helps to keep older adults healthy longer. Whether it is gardening or doing crafts, engaging in activities that have importance to the individual can significantly benefit their overall health as well as process of aging. Occupational therapy is now being used on healthy older adults in hopes of prolonging this healthy aging and preventing future health problems.
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society observed a group of individuals who were enrolled in preventive occupational therapy and compared them with those who were not enrolled in such a group. (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118936796/PDFSTART)
The results showed that individuals enrolled in the preventive occupational therapy spent less on their healthcare costs after having completed the nine-month occupational therapy program. Individuals in this program spent about $967 on post intervention healthcare compared to $1726 for the active control group, $3334 for the passive control group, and $2593 for a combination of the control groups.
This decrease in overall healthcare spending could be a result of increased education about successful aging. Occupational therapists help individuals to engage in activities that are meaningful to them. Perhaps this education to find a hobby proved to be a good coping mechanism for these individuals, in turn, increasing their overall health. More research needs to be done to determine what exactly is beneficial about the occupational therapy program. Perhaps just having someone to talk with on a weekly basis can help overall health outcomes. Whatever the reason, research shows that preventive occupational therapy is both cost effective as well as beneficial to health for older adults.
Hay, J., LaBree, L., Lu,o R., Clark, F., Carlson, M., Mandel, D., et al. (2002), Cost-effectiveness preventive occupational therapy for independent-living older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 50, 1381-1388.
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