Home but still engaged: participation in social activities among the homebound

Abstract

Purpose Participation in social and community activities that require leaving one’s home is important to older adults; however, many older adults have difficulty or are unable to leave their dwellings, and little is known from national samples about issues related to remaining active outside the home or the barriers faced by these older adults. Design and methods We used the National Health and Aging Trends Study, a nationally representative study of older adults (n = 7197), to understand the following: (1) the importance that homebound and semi-homebound adults place on involvement in social or community activities, (2) their current level of involvement, and (3) reported barriers to participation. Results Despite the heavy burden of functional limitations, depression, pain, and falls, homebound adults reported that activities outside the home were important to them ranging from 25.2 % (attend clubs) to 70.0 % (visit family). Similarly, semi-homebound older adults had a strong interest in such participation, including visiting friends and family (81.8 %), attending religious services (72.6 %), and going out for enjoyment (72.5 %). Many homebound adults reported health (42.9–64.1 % depending on the activity) and transportation (12.2–18.2 %) as barriers to participation. Semi-homebound adults also identified health (23.8–41.0 %) and transportation (6.5–10.2 %) as participation barriers. Implications This information can be useful in designing community programs that will foster meaningful social and community engagement for older adults, which may improve their quality of life.

Impact of Savoring Ability on the Relationship Between Older Adults’ Activity Engagement and Well-Being

“…The current study also contributes to the activity theory literature by identifying an individual difference—that is, savoring ability—that impacts the strength of the relationship between activity engagement and well-being. One implication of these study findings is that savoring ability may be particularly important to older adults who are isolated or who have limited mobility because these individuals may have more limited opportunities to participate in activities (e.g., Szanton et al, 2016). The strength of the association between savoring ability and well-being suggests that older adults with lower savoring abilities could benefit from savoring-skills training, regardless of their level of activity engagement.…”

Health promoting lifestyles and influencing factors among empty nesters and non-empty nesters in Taiyuan, China: a cross-sectional study

“…As “social beings,” empty nesters and non-empty nesters both need to participate in social activities. Some literatures showed that social participation was related to better health-related quality of life [22], functional skills [23], and even survival [24]. Inadequate health literacy was a common problem among older adults and was associated with poor health outcomes [25].…”

Participation in Everyday Life Before and After a Housing Adaptation

“…The importance of performing activities outside the home has been addressed previously (Szanton et al, 2016). However, the focus on the dynamics in the relationship of personal, physical, and sociocultural dimensions of performance and engagement both inside and outside the home is lacking in the HA literature (Stark et al, 2017).…”