Design of Occupational Therapy Interventions for Middle-Aged and Elderly Family Caregivers.

Ya-Ling Ko,Wen-Huei Chou,Xiang-Yu Huang

doi:10.3390/healthcare9030275

Abstract

This study aimed to develop an interactive app for occupational therapy interventions for middle-aged and elderly family caregivers by integrating life review and narrative therapy. The results indicated that the interventions improved the mood of individuals, but the improvement in the quality of life was less significant due to the multiple facets of life. The interface design of the interactive app had good operating characteristics and was above average in terms of learnability and usability. Overall, the intervention program positively improved participants’ psychological aspect, which was in line with the purpose of the life review. Thus, a focus group put forward specific suggestions on the contextual construction of life review, the intelligent development of guiding questions, scenario simulation, and the introduction of creative collaboration functions, which could be used as a reference for subsequent content adjustment and interface design.

Highlights

Through the design and implementation of an interactive app, this study aimed to provide therapists with guidance and assistive tools for life review and to understand the impact of life review activities as an intervention program on middle-aged and elderly family caregivers, especially at a psychological and quality of life level
From the results of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) analysis, the implementation of the intervention program was beneficial to the psychological improvement of participants, which was in line with the purpose of life review
Many variables affect the quality of life, and it is difficult to improve an individual’s quality of life immediately through the intervention program of life review

Summary

Introduction

Aged and Elderly Family Caregivers.Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018 suggest that more than15% of the world’s population has some form of disability, which is increasing with the years due to the population aging and chronic diseases [1]. According to 2016 Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the demand for long-term care (LTC) in Taiwan is projected to exceed 800,000 people by 2020 [2]; in 2018 the Primary Family Caregiver Report indicated that the numbers of hours and average years of care increase with the age of caregivers [3]. Gallagher et al suggested that most families provided a certain degree of care support for the disabled and faced health and safety issues, and they mentioned that caregivers were sometimes referred to as “secondary caregivers” [6]. Studies have suggested that chronic caregiving stress leads to physical and psychological issues in caregivers and affects caregiver health and caregiving outcomes, which results in increased mortality rates among those cared for [7,8]

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