Telehealth Lifestyle Pilot Study for Improving Occupational Performance in Older Adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Occupational Therapy
• Public Health

Background:

• Lifestyle interventions enhance health and mitigate age-related decline in older adults.
• Limited research exists on brief, individual telehealth lifestyle programs for this demographic.
• Occupation-centered approaches are crucial for maintaining functional independence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot the Holistic Occupational Performance Empowerment (HOPE) program.
• To assess the program's impact on occupational performance and health-related quality of life in community-dwelling older adults.
• To evaluate the feasibility of a brief, individual telehealth lifestyle intervention.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving twelve community-dwelling older adults.
• Six weekly telehealth sessions focused on behavior change and individualized health goals.
• Assessment using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) and the Short Form 20-Item Survey (SF-20) pre- and post-intervention.

Main Results:

• 69.4% of 36 health-related goals met or exceeded expected attainment levels.
• Statistically significant improvements in occupational performance were observed (higher posttest GAS scores).
• Mental health scores on the SF-20 showed a non-significant increase post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• The HOPE program shows promise for enhancing occupational performance in older adults via telehealth.
• Preliminary findings support the positive impact of brief, individualized lifestyle interventions.
• Further large-scale randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm efficacy.