Alyssa Bowey

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Mrs.DeBock
2nd Block
February 20th, 2015
Essential Question: How important is occupational therapy to elderly patients?
Working Thesis Statement: Occupational therapy plays a wide role in the recovery and
improvement of elderly patients lives.
Refined Thesis Statement: Occupational therapy has helped elderly patients recover from acute
myocardial infarction, improve quality of live in elderly people with dementia, and generally
improve functional independence in patients.
Annotated Bibliography
Jianu, Anca, and Sabina Macovei. "The Occupational Therapy Impact on the Recovery of
Convalescent Elderly People after an Acute Myocardial Infarction." Palestrica of the
Third Millennium Civilization & Sport 13.1 (2012): 23-26. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
This article shows the early introduction of occupational therapy for elderly patients in
the second phase of recovery after an acute myocardial infraction improves heart labor, increases
the maximal cardiac output and the maximal effort capacity. Occupational therapy is a big part of
the cardiovascular recovery-rehabilitation program for elderly patients to become self-confident,
and cope with daily challenges .This study was conducted on a sample of 14 patients aged 66 to
74 years old, hospitalized after an acute coronary infraction. The study showed patients that were

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introduced early to occupational therapy recovered a lot quicker than the patients who were not.
This article proves that occupational therapy has a strong impact on the recovery and lives of
elderly patients who suffered from Acute Myocardial Infraction.
Parker, Ann M., Robert K. Lord, and Dale M. Needham. "Increasing the Dose of Acute
Rehabilitation: Is There a Benefit?" BMC Medicine 11.1 (2013): 1-3. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
This article states that an increase in rehabilitation interventions such as occupational
therapy can improve elderly patient outcomes more effectively. Occupational therapy improves
physical function, the quality of life, reduce the hospitalization time, the healthcare costs of
elderly patients. Peiris and colleagues reported a randomized controlled trial (RCT) showing the
comparison of elderly patients doing occupational therapy for six days a week compared to only
five days a week. Patients in both groups received motivation from their therapists to participate
in rehabilitation, those in the group that did therapy six days a week rather than five days a week,
were more likely to view Saturday as a day to work toward improved function rather than a day
of rest. Therefore, patients in that group may have realized more of their rehabilitation potential
due to a greater sense of motivation to achieve rehabilitation goals .This article supports that an
increase in occupational therapy will lead to quicker and more motivated recovery and improve
functional independence of elderly patients lives.
Prakash, Kumar, et al. "Novel Occupational Therapy Interventions May Improve Quality Of Life
in Older Adults with Dementia." International Archives Of Medicine 7.1 (2014): 1-16.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015

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This article shows a randomized controlled trial that was conducted to study the effects of
occupational therapy programs in improving the quality of life of elderly patients having mild to
moderate dementia. Throughout the study, elderly patients with dementia participated in therapy
sessions where they practiced relaxation, physical exercises, personal activities, and recreational
activities for a set amount of time for 5 weeks. The occupational therapy program improved the
short term physical performance and psychological well- being of the elderly adults with
dementia. An improved physical performance is achieved by physical exercise and it creates a
sense of independency, increased motivation, positive outlook and reduced behavioral and
psychological symptoms. This article proves that occupational therapy can help improve the lives
of elder adults with dementia by increasing their motivation and their functional independence.