Everyday occupations prioritised by older adults participating in reablement. A cross-sectional study
Hanne Tuntland, Ingvild Kjeken, Bjarte Folkestad, Oddvar Førland & Eva Langeland
Received 19 Nov 2018, Accepted 01 Apr 2019, Published online: 28 May 2019
Download citation  https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2019.1604800 

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Abstract
Background: Little knowledge exists regarding which occupations older adults prioritize as rehabilitation goals in reablement and what factors are associated with their preferences.

Objectives: To explore which occupations older people with functional decline find important to improve, which of these they prioritize as their rehabilitation goals, and what factors are associated with these priorities.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken with a sample of 738 older adults from a nationwide trial evaluating the effects of reablement in Norway. The nine occupational sub-areas of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure were used as a framework for analyses.

Results: Participants identified a multitude of occupations as challenging. Functional mobility was the most frequently identified and prioritized sub-area. Significant associations were found between prioritized occupations and health condition, sex, living status, education, walking speed and motivation.

Conclusions: This study found both abundance and diversity in the occupational problems and prioritized goals of older adults, with mobility being a key priority regardless of health condition.

Significance: It is important that reablement continues to be a person-centered intervention embracing the possibility to choose meaningful occupations. Occupational Therapists and other health professionals should address mobility when improving occupational performance in older adults.

Keywords: Occupation, older adults, everyday life, reablement, mobility, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure