Effectiveness of a Functional Literacy Program for Sheltered Homeless Adults

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Adult Literacy Programs
• Community-Based Interventions

Background:

• Homeless adults often face challenges with functional literacy, impacting their ability to engage in daily occupations.
• Occupational participation is crucial for well-being and independence.
• Existing interventions may not adequately address the specific literacy needs of this population within their daily contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a functional literacy program on occupational participation in sheltered homeless adults.
• To explore the impact of a program grounded in the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach and Occupational Adaptation theory.
• To determine if community-based literacy training enhances daily activity engagement and satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• A two-group, controlled study design with pre- and post-intervention assessments.
• An 8-week intervention involving 1.5-hour group sessions twice weekly.
• The program focused on literacy skills for participant-identified daily activities.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant improvements were observed in the intervention group compared to the control group.
• Key improvements included perceived functional literacy, occupational performance, and satisfaction.
• Significant enhancements were also noted in reading frequency, effectiveness, level of support, and efficiency.

Conclusions:

• The functional literacy program effectively enhanced perceived reading abilities and occupational participation among sheltered homeless adults.
• The findings support the use of community-based, occupation-focused literacy interventions for this population.
• Further research is recommended to validate and implement these findings in practice.