Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Interventions to Promote Social Participation and Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Rapid Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review discusses the evidence of 24 studies to identify the effectiveness of various evidence-based interventions that could be utilized within the scope of occupational therapy (OT), as they aim to improve social participation and health related quality of life in adults over 60 years of age. Older adults often experience difficulty with social engagement, increasing their risk for social isolation which is correlated to decreases in health-related quality of life, functional mobility, as well as increased loneliness, cognitive declines, or other adverse physical and psychological effects. Social participation can facilitate increased health-related quality of life, mitigate loneliness, as well as slow cognitive decline and other adverse physical and psychological effects related to aging and late life transitions. Overall, this review found strong evidence for the effectiveness of physical activity interventions, moderate evidence for the effectiveness of emotional and personal based interventions, and mixed evidence for external support interventions that aim to improve social participation in older adults. Additional research should be conducted to further identify objective aspects (rather than typical subjective aspects) of evidence-based interventions that clinically correlate to increased health-related quality of life and well-being as related to social participation for therapeutic utilization within the domain of occupational therapy for older adults.