Altruistic Activity Patterns Among Long-Term Nursing Home Residents

The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of altruistic activities by nursing home residents, both prior to admission and as current residents of a nursing home. Understanding the continuity or discontinuity of occupational patterns over time can assist therapists when evaluating residents' needs for meaningful engagement within their living environment. This qualitative study was conducted in two nursing homes and included eleven participants. There were sixteen altruistic activities identified by six or more of the participants as the most common activities engaged in prior to entering the nursing home. Upon entering the nursing home all participants' altruistic activity patterns experienced a shift to some degree. All eleven participants identified immediate family and/or friends as the focus behind their activities, both prior to and while residing in the nursing home. The results of this study suggest that an understanding of how and why shifts over time occur as a person participates in altruistic activities will aid occupational therapists and other professionals to develop meaningful interventions to meet the needs of residents in nursing homes. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.