The Good Practice Guide to Therapeutic Activities with Older People in Care Settings

Tessa Perrin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351698597
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Éducation générale

There are many activity manuals on the market today but this publication is the first to offer a clear guideline on exactly what constitutes good practice in activity provision. Written by the National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA), a charity whose remit is to set standards and disseminate knowledge of good practice in activity provision and to support activity providers who work in care settings for older people, this guide offers: a model of good practice in one concise volume; a benchmark against which activity providers can measure and evaluate their practice; clear links to current national standards; guidance for care home owners and managers who wish to respond to the recent government initiatives on providing activities for their clients; and a call for clinical governance in the emerging 'profession' of activity provision.

Appendix 1
Sample Categories for Gathering Biographical Data

• Significant life events
• Significant events of the year
• Significant people
• Food and drink preferences
• Preferred style and size of clothing
• Preferred routines and practices for bathing
• Preferred routines and practices for rising/going to bed
• Preferences in self-care routines, such as hairdressing and manicure
• Special needs in communication
• Spirituality and religious practices
• Preferences in relation to music, television, radio, books, newspapers, entertainments
• School, family, friends and pastimes of early years
• Family, friends and pastimes of adult years
• Education, qualifications, National Service and work in adult years
• Family, friends and retirement in later years.

Appendix 2
An Overview of the Literature

The publications cited below are set out as an overview. The reader wishing to consult the original documents can obtain full details from the reference list.

Evidence for the link between activity and health

Havighurst, 1968. There is a positive relationship between social activity and life satisfaction across the life spectrum.

Glass et al, 1999. Social and productive activities lower the risk of mortality as much as physical fitness activities and may confer survival benefits.

Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1988, 1992. When the challenges of activity are high and personal skills are used to the utmost, we experience an optimum level of well-being.

Rosenzweig et al, 1972/Diamond, 1976. The experience of living in an environment enriched with opportunities for activity increases the weight and thickness of the cerebral cortex in experimental rats.

Evidence for the link between inactivity and ill health

Csikszentmihalyi, 1975. Disengagement from the non-instrumental activities of daily living is experienced as deeply distressing and debilitating.

Whiteford, 2000. Occupational deprivation will be experienced by increasing numbers of people globally over the coming millennium.

Bexton et al, 1954. Cognitive and emotional disruption is experienced as a result of deprivation of sensory stimulation.

Corcoran, 1991. The health hazards of bed rest and inactivity.

Asher, 1947. Too much time in bed is dangerous – all systems are negatively affected.

Ryback et al, 1971. The negative effects of prolonged bed rest on young healthy volunteers.

Gravelle, 1985. The effects on health and survival of occupational deprivation through unemployment.

Smith, 1987. The effects on health and survival of occupational deprivation through unemployment.

Robb, 1967. The effects of occupational deprivation and deprivation of all kinds in continuing care settings.

Perrin, 1997c. The low levels of well-being associated with occupational deprivation in continuing care settings for people with dementia.

Cohen & Taylor, 1974. The effects of occupational deprivation in long-term imprisonment.

Keenan, 1992. The effects of occupational deprivation in long-term imprisonment.

Armstrong-Esther et al, 1994. The failure of nurses to engage older patients in activities and interactions.

Nolan et al, 1995. The failure of nurses to engage older patients in activities and interactions.

Evidence for the link between activity and health in elder care settings

Crump, 1991. The provision of activity is a basic right of the older person in a care setting; the absence of meaningful activity could be interpreted as abuse.

Powell et al, 1979. An indoor gardening activity significantly improves sustained engagement in a residential home.

Jenkins et al, 1977. Recreational materials significantly improve sustained engagement in a residential home.

Pratt, 1987. The positive effects of engaging an older person in activity – a case study.

Bower, 1967. Functional, cognitive and emotional improvements in the context of a sustained programme of occupational, sensory and environmental stimulation in a continuing care setting...