Altruistic Activities of Older Adults Living in Long Term Care Facilities: A Literature Review

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to (1) review the research literature on altruistic activities of older adults living in long term care (LTC) facilities and (2) explore the implications of this research for the practice of occupational therapy. Reviews of six studies in the occupational therapy literature are presented. Three models used within occupational therapy practice (The Model of Human Occupation [MOHO], Person-Environment-Occupation Model [PEO] and the Lifestyle Performance Model [LSPM]) were then examined as to how altruistic behaviors can be incorporated as part of the assessment process. From this review six points were summarized which can assist occupational therapy professionals in planning interventions to meet altruistic needs. They include: (1) One should not assume that all residents of an LTC facility have the need to be altruistic; (2) having a choice to engage in the activity or not once it is designed is important, but having the opportunity presented by the therapist in the first place may be the key to facilitation of such activities; (3) the question of who to serve provides many opportunities, with research indicating a promising lead that intergenerational help may be particularly satisfying, (4) altruistic activities can have recipients from the community, but also can potentially include peers in the residence; (5) there is some research which indicates residents, once provided with the idea, can be active planners of the type of activities engaged in, including what to do, whom to do it for, and the length of time of participation; and (6) the opportunity for social engagement is of major importance. Practitioners need to be aware of the interest that may be present among older adults living in long term care facilities to engage in altruistic activities. Such activities may serve as a means to directly assist clients in maintaining their quality of life and achieving higher levels of life satisfaction.

KEYWORDS:

• Altruism
• older adults
• long term care facilities

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joseph Cipriani

Jennifer R. Johnson was a graduate student in the School of Occupational Therapy, Texas Woman's University, Houston, TX at the time of this study. She is currently employed as an Occupational Therapist at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, LA

Debra Stewart is Lecturer, School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University and staff therapist at Erinoak Centre, Missis-sauga, Ontario. She is currently completing a MSc (Design, Measurement and Evaluation) at McMaster University.

Ronald L. Mace (deceased, June 29, 1998) was also affiliated with The Center for Universal Design, School of Design, North Carolina University.

Lois Rosage and Geraldine Shaw are Occupational Therapist Consultants who provide evaluations for the housing programs at the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging.

Debbie Rand is Occupational Therapist, Beit Rivka Geriatric Rehabilitation Hospital, Petach Tikva, Israel. She completed this study in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy, School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her mailing address is 50 Heh B'Eyar Street, Apartment 5, Rosh Ha'Ayin, Israel, 48056.

Maureen McKenna is a Licensed Physical Therapist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. Her Current position is: Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Wheeling Jesuit University, 316 Washington Avenue, Wheeling, WV 26003.

Heather Lambert was funded in part by a Health Canada NHRDP Fellowship, a REPAR Fellowship, a doctoral bursary from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Quebec, and a Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation-Royal Canadian Legion Fellowship in Gerontology.

Trish Wielandt was supported by a University of Queensland Postgraduate Research Scholarship (UQPRS).

Dr. Leigh Tooth was supported by a NHMRC Fellowship (#997032) while some of this research was undertaken.

J. D. “Herb” Herbert is Occupational Therapist, Rocky Mountain Menders LLC, 363 Pioneer Road, Lyons, CO 80540. At the time of this study, he was a graduate student, Department of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.