Altruistic Activities of Older Adults Living in Long Term Care Facilities: A Literature Review

The purposes of this study were to (1) review the research literature on altruistic activities of older adults living in long term care (LTC) facilities and (2) explore the implications of this research for the practice of occupational therapy. Reviews of six studies in the occupational therapy literature are presented. Three models used within occupational therapy practice (The Model of Human Occupation [MOHO], Person-Environment-Occupation Model [PEO] and the Lifestyle Performance Model [LSPM]) were then examined as to how altruistic behaviors can be incorporated as part of the assessment process. From this review six points were summarized which can assist occupational therapy professionals in planning interventions to meet altruistic needs. They include: (1) One should not assume that all residents of an LTC facility have the need to be altruistic; (2) having a choice to engage in the activity or not once it is designed is important, but having the opportunity presented by the therapist in the first place may be the key to facilitation of such activities; (3) the question of who to serve provides many opportunities, with research indicating a promising lead that intergenerational help may be particularly satisfying, (4) altruistic activities can have recipients from the community, but also can potentially include peers in the residence; (5) there is some research which indicates residents, once provided with the idea, can be active planners of the type of activities engaged in, including what to do, whom to do it for, and the length of time of participation; and (6) the opportunity for social engagement is of major importance. Practitioners need to be aware of the interest that may be present among older adults living in long term care facilities to engage in altruistic activities. Such activities may serve as a means to directly assist clients in maintaining their quality of life and achieving higher levels of life satisfaction. (C) 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.