FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LEISURE PARTICIPATION AMONG THE ELDERLY LIVING IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES

Background: A lack of participation in leisure activities often leads to depression in the elderly. This study investigated the factors impacting leisure participation among the elderly living in long-term care facilities. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 309 individuals older than 65 years from six long-term care facilities located in the Taipei area. Structured in-person questionnaires were administered to assess their demographic characteristics, general self-rated health status, leisure constraints, and leisure participation. Results: The average frequency of leisure participation was 27.20 +/- 12.48 points. The top five most popular leisure activities were watching television, walking, chatting, reading, and participating in religious activities. Elderly subjects who tended to be female, have religious beliefs, have a high school education level, be married, perceive themselves in better health, demonstrate better cognitive function and have higher scores on activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living scales were more likely to participate in leisure activities (p<0.05). In contrast, those who were older, had stayed in the facility for a longer time period and had more leisure constraints were less likely to participate in leisure activities (p<0.05). Overall, the predictive factors for leisure participation included religious beliefs, educational level, cognitive skill, instrumental activities of daily living score, depression, personal inner constraints, and structural constraints. The entire model was significant (F=11.03, p<0.001). Conclusion: Based on the self-reported interests, health status and level of cognitive skill of elderly residents, long-term care facilities should arrange appropriate leisure activities to prevent depression and to improve quality of life. [International Journal of Gerontology 2010; 4(2): 69-74]