Occupational therapy interventions to improve the quality of life of healthy older people living in nursing homes: scoping review

Abstract

[Abstract] The worldwide increase in the number of older people has led to great interest in improving their quality of life. to describe the scope and characteristics of the existing research on occupational therapy interventions to enhance the quality of life of healthy older people living in nursing homes. The review was carried out following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The databases used were PubMed, Web of Science, Dialnet, Scopus, Cochrane, CINAHL, and SciELO. Twenty-one articles were included in our review. The results were classified as (a) volume and scope of the research; (b) type of research; (c) characteristics of research; and (d) characteristics and outcomes of interventions. Occupational therapy interventions have been shown to improve the quality of life of healthy older people living in nursing homes. Programs that focus on independence in activities of daily living, social participation, and health management are the most effective. The results of this study support a multidimensional view of quality of life, in which occupation plays a crucial role.