Community-Based Occupational Therapy Practice Among Older Adults: A Delphi Study

This capstone project explores the socio-political environment of current and potential community-based occupational therapy (OT) services among community-dwelling older adults, including the current state of community-based OT practice and the current awareness of OT’s potential impact on health and wellness among community-dwelling older adults. The goal is to identify how to increase the presence of OT in community settings to decrease the occupational injustice among the older adult population. The research method used is the Delphi Method, an anonymous structured communication between experts in the field of community-based OT practice and the older adult population. Experts, provided real-world knowledge and guidance to: 1. identify indicators that inhibit the presence of OT in community-based practice for the older adult, 2. identify if OT is a potential service within the community to improve health, wellness, and quality of life (QOL) for the prevention of disease among older adults, and 3. forecast how an increased presence of OT in community settings can decrease occupational injustice among the older adult population. Community-based OT practice was identified as a valuable service among older adults. Recommendations were established on how to increase community-based OT practice among older adults. Limitations were identified as to why OT is rare in community practice. A body of evidence, including this research, supports the need to address the OT profession’s theoretical, philosophical and practical perspective on community-based OT practice among older adults