The influence of occupation on wellbeing, as perceived by the elderly: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Review objective/questions The objective of the current review is to identify the types of occupations that are important in improving overall wellbeing amongst the elderly population. It is assumed that conducting a systematic review with a qualitative approach will lead to a deeper understanding of how the independently-living elderly enhance their wellbeing through participation in occupations. Such a review will contribute to the knowledge and practice within the health promotion framework with the healthy elderly population. Thus the review will be of use to occupational therapists and others working with elderly people in terms of both theory and practice, as the knowledge will be grounded in the reality of human experience. The specific question to be addressed in this review is: Which occupations do the independently-living elderly consider to enhance their overall wellbeing? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include independently-living elderly, aged 65 years and older residing in western countries including Europe, America and Australia. Western countries have been chosen because of their cultural homogeneity in relation to comparisons and considerations. In this review, studies that include elderly participants with a known diagnosis or disease will be excluded. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest This review will consider studies based on qualitative methodology that investigates the perspectives of independently-living elderly people, regarding occupations and quality of life. The focus will be on which occupations elderly people believe improve their overall wellbeing.