EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO OT TREATMENTS FOR THE ELDERLY

人口统计数据显示，美国老年人的数量已经上升， 近年来，这一数字急剧上升，并将继续上升。因为老年 个人面临许多慢性健康和心理疾病的风险， 威胁到他们独立生活能力的条件， 体验满意的生活，他们将从 提供职业治疗服务。 但尽管 对此类服务的需求不断增长，职业治疗专业 目前正面临严重的人力短缺。 鉴于这种 在这种情况下，迫切需要进行研究，以确定成本 提供老人职业治疗服务的成效， 关于职业治疗在治疗癌症方面的有效性的 治疗老年人的方法在文献中基本上没有。 这个为期3年的赠款项目的目标是进行第一次 职业治疗服务深入成效研究 为低收入的长者提供服务。 目的，一个跨学科的研究团队， 职业治疗师，具有丰富经验的医生， 老年学和生物统计学家作为共同主要研究者， 进行了一项随机实地实验，其中345名低收入者 一个大型联邦补贴住房项目的老年居民 （1）或（2）或（3）或（4）或（5）。 职业治疗干预条件;（B）社会计划 对照组;或（c）无处理对照条件。为每个 受试者，研究的治疗期将持续9个月。 在 为了评估治疗的有效性，所有受试者将 接受治疗前、治疗后和6个月随访测试， 身体和社会功能能力、寿命 满意度、抑郁、自评和医生评定的健康 状态和营养摄入。 对于每一种有效性 指标，平均差异的意义， 治疗和对照条件之间的基线评分将为 测试了后测和后续评估。 此外，A 对应于转移前经过时间的删失变量 将包括一个升级设施，并将通过 生存分析 此外，还将进行相关分析。 确定可预测的客户特征 这些相关性分析的结果 将被用来描述客户的类型谁可能会 在实现特定的结果目标方面，从治疗中获益最多。 最后，成本效益分析将由 经济学家，并将包括估计的医疗费用，避免作为一个 接受职业治疗的结果。

Demographic data reveal that the number of elderly Americans has risen dramatically in recent years and will continue to rise. Because older individuals are at risk for numerous chronic health and psychological conditions that threaten their ability to live independently and experience a satisfying life, they stand to benefit significantly from the provision of occupational therapy services. However, despite the growing demand for such services, the occupational therapy profession is currently experiencing a severe manpower shortage. Given this situation, research is urgently needed to identify the cost effectiveness of geriatric occupational therapy service delivery, as rigorous studies on the effectiveness of occupational therapy in treating the elderly are largely absent in the literature. The goal of this 3-year grant project is to conduct the first intensive effectiveness study of occupational therapy service provision to the low-income well elderly.To accomplish this purpose,an interdisciplinary research team featuring an occupational therapist, a physician with extensive experience in gerontology, and a biostatistician as Co-Principal Investigators are conducting a randomized field experiment in which 345 low-income elderly residents of a large, federally subsidized housing project have been or will be assigned to either: (a) a group-centered occupational therapy intervention condition; (b) a social program control group; or (c) a no-treatment control condition. For each subject, the treatment phase of the study will last 9 months. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy, all subjects will receive pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up testing on measures of physical and social functional capacity, life satisfaction, depression, self-rated and physician-rated health status, and nutritional intake. For each of these effectiveness indicators, the significance of mean differences in change-from- baseline scores between the therapy and control conditions will be tested for both the posttest and follow-up assessments. Further, a censored variable corresponding to the elapsed time prior to transfer to a step-up facility will be included and will be assessed via survival analysis. In addition, correlational analyses will be undertaken to determine the client characteristics that are predictive of response to treatment; the outcome of these correlational analyses will be utilized to delineate the type of client who is likely to benefit most from therapy in achieving a specified outcome goal. Finally, cost effectiveness analyses will be undertaken by an economist and will include estimates of the medical costs avoided as a result of undergoing occupational therapy.