Occupational activity is any activity, mental or physical, which is medically prescribed and professionally guided in purpose to help the patient in recovery from an illness or injury.
Occupational therapy is part of a therapeutic rehabilitation program and includes a manual, creative, recreational, social, educative and some other activities aimed to achieve a certainb physical or mental function and behavior. Aging involves the decline of vital dynamism, the weakening of all senses and learning problems.
Elderly people often lack confidence in themselves, they should be encouraged, promoted and supported to persist and complete the initiated. In working with the elderly the occupational therapist uses the same general and specialized techniques, therapeutic procedures and methods as for other patients who have neurological, traumatic, orthopedic, rheumatic, psychological, psychiatric disorders, diseases and damage. For the geriatrics planning of rehabilitation treatment, in addition to establish a medical diagnosis, is necessary to resolve how the disease affects the lives of people and their daily activities.
The goal of occupational therapy is to increase the autonomy of the elderly’s everyday activities, reintegration into the family and society, decrease dependency on assistance by developing existing opportunities, learning and mastering new skills with the ultimate goal to improve the quality of life.
Occupational therapy is focused on the activation of existing knowledge and skills to slow aging and improve the general physical condition. The aims of occupational therapy are:
- adaptation to a new environment
- direct and maintain attention
- improve mood
- encourage communication with members and staff
- encourage independence in their work
- encourage independence in performing self-care activities and activities of daily living
- an exercise in perceptual functions
- practicing the manual dexterity
- voluntary activities (fostering perseverance in work and work habits)
- psychosocial activities (through social contacts and group work)
- release and control inappropriate impulses
- helps to accept their identity
