Occupational therapy led health promotion for older people : feasibility of the Lifestyle Matters Programme

The aim of this feasibility study was to see if an occupation-based health-promoting intervention for community-living older people could be delivered successfully and also to provide some information to guide a future trial of clinical effectiveness. The participants’ ages ranged from 60 to 92 years. Twenty-eight participants commenced the 8-month programme and 26 completed it; they have continued to meet independently following facilitator withdrawal. The participants were interviewed qualitatively before and after the 8-month programme. Additionally, pre-programme and post-programme measurements of cognition, depression, functional dependency and quality of life were conducted with each participant before and after the intervention. The post-intervention interviews illustrated the individualised benefits experienced by the participants, with greater self-efficacy being a significant theme. A comparison of the pre-intervention and post-intervention scores on the quantitative measures showed an upward trend on all dimensions of quality of life. The measurement of cognition, depression and dependency proved useful for screening purposes and for identifying individuals at risk, but not as an outcome measure. The delivery of the programme was feasible and its benefit to participants was observed, but there is a need for further research to test the intervention rigorously and to explore applicability in a range of settings.