Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Increasing Occupational Participation Of Older Adults With Low Vision Through An Occupation-Based Exercise Video, Valerie J. Deroos, Skyler Moon

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

With the increasingly large population of older adults with low vision, many older adults would benefit from having a guide dog as an assistive device. When walking with a guide dog, different upper extremity muscles and postures are adopted to handle the guide dog. However, older adults with low vision may not be in the proper physical condition to meet the strenuous demands of handling a guide dog due to the normal aging process and decreased mobility. To prevent pain and injury, stretching and strengthening muscles used when handling a guide dog may benefit older adults before entering the Guide …

Developing A Website Of Occupation-Based Resources For Healthy Aging At Dominican University Of California, David Aizpuru, Kevin Urquhart Brown, Beverly Posqdas Deguzman, Cournety Brooke Mcintosh

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this project was to create a website to promote healthy aging at Dominican University of California. The website contains relevant information to promote healthy aging and publicizes Dominican University of California’s activities and programs centered around healthy aging. The design of this thesis is a virtual context project that focuses on occupation based resources for healthy aging and highlights the role of occupational therapy in health aging. The healthy aging website is currently located on the homepage of the Occupational Therapy Department of Dominican University of California website. The need for a Dominican University of California healthy …

Circles Of Connection: Finding Social Connectedness And Meaning Within Group Process, Julianna F. Bratsberg, Aundrea Marcella Roberts, Susan R. Untiedt

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Social participation is an area of occupation that can increase and enhance an individual’s participation in life. This is particularly true in senior housing communities where common issues of aging and adjustment can be addressed while reducing feelings of social isolation. The purpose of this demonstration project was to provide a venue where older adults living at The Redwoods, a senior housing community in Mill Valley, California, could share and develop meaningful strategies for living, and ultimately foster a sense of connectedness, which would affect quality of life. The project’s goals were to create and implement a series of process …

Healthy Seniors: A Program Evaluation, Andrea Edith Maffei, Matthew Alexander Patjawee, Jamie Christine Thompson

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research study was to perform a summative evaluation of the Healthy Seniors program at Dominican University of California, a wellness program for older adults facilitated by occupational therapy students and faculty.

METHOD: A non-experimental mixed-methods descriptive research design composed of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to analyze data from the 2011 Healthy Seniors sessions.

RESULTS: The majority of participants in the Dominican University of California Healthy Seniors program were women between the ages of 75 and 85. Overall, participants in the Healthy Seniors program improved in functional status and were satisfied with their experience. …