Introduction: Evidence of occupation-focused group programs for frail older adults remains limited. Sharing one’s occupational story has been linked to enhanced purpose in life among older adults.
Objectives: The study aim was to evaluate the effects of an occupational story-sharing program on purpose in life, mental health, loneliness, and daily life satisfaction among frail older adults.
Methods: Participants were aged 75 and older and attended daycare services for long-term care prevention. Forty-eight service users from four facilities were recruited, all of whom participated in the study. Ultimately, 38 completed the study. The program, integrated into regular services, was held weekly for 90 minutes over six sessions. Participants used a worksheet to describe and share their past, present, and future occupational stories. Outcomes were measured before and after the program using the Life Engagement Test, WHO-5, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Activity and Daily Life Satisfaction Scale. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for the analysis. This study was approved by the ethics committee of the author’s university.
Results: The final participants’ average age was 86.9 years, and average attendance was 5.7 sessions. A significant improvement was observed on the Life Engagement Test (p = .03, r = .25, 95% CI [.03–.45]), indicating a moderate effect size.
Conclusion: The occupational story-sharing program demonstrated the potential to enhance purpose in life among frail older adults. The fact that participants who attended weekly daycare services knew each other and had varying levels of interest in the program might have lessened its effects.