This study aimed to investigate the effects of group occupational therapy program on the physical, social, and mental health status and quality of life of elderly living alone using customized care services of the elderly. The study subjects were 30 e...
This study aimed to investigate the effects of group occupational therapy program on the physical, social, and mental health status and quality of life of elderly living alone using customized care services of the elderly. The study subjects were 30 elderly people aged 65 years and elderly living alone who had been using customized care services in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions for more than three months and who met the selection criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Excluding four people who dropped out midway through the study due to personal reasons, 11 people in the experimental group and 15 people in the control group ultimately participated in this study.
In addition to the existing service, the experimental group participated in the group work therapy program twice a week, for a total of 12 sessions, and the control group received the same existing service. Pre- and post-tests were conducted using WHODAS 2.0, UCLA loneliness scale, and SF-36 to evaluate changes in physical, social, and mental health status and quality of life.
As a result of the study, the experimental group showed a significant improvement over the pre-test in the areas of association and participation in WHODAS 2.0, and the UCLA loneliness scale. In addition, in the quality of life (SF-36), significant changes were found in the areas of social function (SF), physical role restriction (RP), mental health (MH), vitality (VT), and general health (GH). In the cross-group comparison, the experimental group also showed a statistically significant improvement over the control group in all areas except for the mingling of WHODAS 2.0, housework, participation area and UCLA loneliness scale, and physical function (PF) of SF-36 (p<.05).
These results suggest that the group work therapy program is an effective intervention to improve the physical, social, and mental health status and quality of life of the elderly living alone. In addition, it was confirmed that the intervention of professional personnel is important in the operation of the program, and this study can be used as basic data for the development of standardized occupational therapy interventions and the establishment of a professional manpower cooperation system in the future.