OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN ELDERLY WITH A GROUP SOCIAL ACTIVITIY

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OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN ELDERLY WITH A GROUP
SOCIAL ACTIVITIY

• Öksüz Ç., Akel S., Yücel H., Atasavun S.
• Hacettepe University School of Physical Therapy
  and Rehabilitation Department of Occupational
  Therapy

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• Turkey is a society who looks after their elderly
  with their traditions and customs
• The big majority of the elderly live with their
  children, the ones who live apart are in close
  contact

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• Although the old are traditionally inclined to
  live with their family and children, a change
  towards the nuclear family has caused the number
  of those living at a retirement home to increase
• The ratio of old people who live at a retirement
  home in Turkey is said to be 3.6.

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• Elderly centres provide their services to those
  older people feeling lonely and desiring to make
  their diminishing relations strong
• The beneficiaries of these centres are those who
  are living in their own houses or are living with
  their families or are not desired to be left
  alone at home
• These centres give an opportunity to the older
  people to be together with other older people and
  to participate some social and daily activities

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• Irrelevant and inadequate physical conditions of
  establishments that take care of the old and the
  insufficient quality and quantity of staff that
  work in such establishments are two foremost
  sources of problems encountered in services
  provided for the old in Turkey

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• The proportion of the elderly population in our
  general population will increase two or three
  times more in thirty years
• The lack of social and cultural programs that may
  socialize those who live in these establishments
  and help them to join the social life in a
  productive manner

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• We planned to make the Project according to this
  topic. Occupational therapy is a new develoing
  profession in Turkey and it would be useful to
  show the effects of therapy in a most needed
  area.

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PURPOSE

• To have the elderly benefit from the areas that
  they are interested in
• To have the elderly participate to manpower
• To have the older take some responsibilities on
  themselves
• To give opportunity to the elderly to benefit
  from social occupations

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MATERIAL AND METHOD

• Our research was included volunteer 15 elderly
  people who lived in The Akyurt Rest House.
• We have used semi-open interview and talked to 15
  elderly
• We had formed 5 main questions to learn their
  interests. After interviews we wanted to organize
  elderly chorous as their most favourite
  activity was singing.

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• We thought a group activity would be more useful
  so that they can all share their feelings and
  enjoy being together
• The Akyurt Rest House is our ongoing partnership.
  Interviews were done with the registered elderly
  there. Also permission is taken for the
  organization of the chorous.

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• We had also a pilot study there and our
  traditional music chorous formed form the
  students went to Akyurt Rest house and sang
  together with the elderly
• After the activity we learnt about their
  reflections

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• We are at the stage of forming the chorous form
  volunteers and stating the date for the activity

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Main Findings, Outcomes of Research or Action

• That they feel
• It is nice to do something else than watching TV
• Confident
• Good for sharing something with people
• Also they did not feel themselves alone and
  useless

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• Turkish elderly have an inactive life as they
  believe in faith. Also they think being old means
  sitting at home
• This project will encourage and support the
  projects of caring for the elderly , increase the
  efficiency and improve the quality of facilities
  providing elderly, make aware the people around
  elderly that they can still participate in
  activities and mainly make elderly believe in
  they can still do new things while living

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Future Recommendations

• First of all actually Turkey has a big problem to
  improve the quality live of the elderly. It is
  shown that the majority of the elderly were
  living at undesirable conditions and the
  government or related institutions have to make
  better these conditions. The situation comes more
  serious when the Turkish culture is considered.
  Because the elderly may not say their real needs
  easily to somebody else
• More projects should be done considering elderly
  and more support should be given to them

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Short personal reflection of the action and the
value for your future occupational therapy
practice

• We will still be in relation with Akyurt rest
  house and we are planning activity days for the
  habitants of Akyurt
• Every populatin have different needs and it is
  nice to discover them while working with them
• We would understand the needs of elderly much
  better when dealing with problems of them in
  occupational therapy services.

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References

• Hviding, K., Merette, M. (1998). Macroeconomics
  Effects of Pension Reforms in the Context of
  Ageing Populations Overlapping Generations Model
  Simulations for Seven OECD Countries. Economics
  Department Working Papers, No. 201, OECD, 4.

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• SHCEK. (1999). Ülkemizde Yaslilara Götürülen
  Hizmetler. Basbakanlik Sosyal Hizmetler Genel
  Müdürlügü, Ankara.
• www.yaslilikrehberi.gov.tr
• Hacettepe University Institute of Demography and
  Macro International Inc. 1999. 1998 Turkey
  Demography and Health Survey, Ankara.

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THANKS FOR ATTENTION