14 Activities To Increase Engagement In Senior Living Communities

By Brandon Burnett, MS, OTR/L

Regional Quality Assurance Liaison

Daily engagement in meaningful activities is an important part of life for every part of the population.

As an occupational therapist, these meaningful activities are referred to as “occupations.” Bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, functional mobility (walking), and self-feeding are the core focus for occupational therapists. These are also known as activities of daily living, or ADLs.

Occupational therapists also focus on instrumental activities of daily living, or IADLs, which focus on meal preparation, community mobility and shopping, care of pets or family, medication management, cleaning and maintaining the home, and social or leisure pursuits.

The importance of ADLs

Studies have shown a strong correlation between happiness and satisfaction with occupations and overall health and well-being.

As adults age and eventually retire, engagement in daily occupations change and often diminish.

Often, physical, social, and cognitive participation decreases as older adults no longer find themselves in the workplace after retirement.

Daily routines are disrupted.

In senior living communities, retired adults often make the transition from full independence with ADLs and IADLs to often receiving full or partial assistance with these tasks. For some, meaningful activities such as cleaning the home, shopping, cooking, and driving to see a friend are either no longer possible due to physical constraints or are completed for them by staff.

As a clinician concerned with engagement in daily life, I’ve come up with several activities to institute within senior living communities to engage even the most-withdrawn members of the community.

Remembering older adults are varied individuals with different backgrounds, interests, and hobbies is important. Not every older adult enjoys playing Bingo or listening to Frank Sinatra.

Below are some examples of activities we have facilitated with our senior living partners who participate in our FOX Optimal Living Program. These activities engage every resident on multiple levels: physical, cognitive and social. These activities are loosely structure, resident-driven, cost-effective, and, most importantly, fun! I see even the most reclusive residents participating in an activity that interests them.

WALKING CLUB

Our residents who are safe enough to walk with supervision join our exercise physiologist on a brisk walk throughout the building, and when the weather permits, outside along the perimeter of the community. Residents enjoy the socializing as they walk and talk for 30 to 45 minutes. Those with canes and walkers are not excluded, and our EP or trained staff ensures that the group pace accommodates everyone involved. This club is implemented with our traditional residents and a separate club is implemented for those in memory care.

MEN’S CLUB

Male residents tend to be a minority in SLCs. It’s important to include men in activities they enjoy and allow for them to socialize and bond as a group. Our men’s club typically includes Wii Bowling, shuffleboard, and card games. Beer is occasionally served to those who can drink alcohol. The men involved look forward to their weekly competitions, and have a leaderboard and bragging rights to high scores. Many of our male residents have developed close friendships through this activity.

SEATED YOGA

This is a quiet, meditative approach in a group setting. Soothing music is played, the lights are dimmed, and the focus is on upper and lower body stretching as well as deep breathing. Water is served before and after, with education provided on the benefits of optimal hydration. Residents report feeling relaxed and rejuvenated after this 45-minute session.

SEATED TAI CHI

Residents enjoy learning about the ancient history of tai chi, and enjoy the smooth, fluid movements that benefit oxygen saturation and joint mobility. Guided mediation and body awareness is also promoted in these sessions.

“THIS DAY IN HISTORY”

Residents learn about important events in history that have occurred on that calendar day. Emphasis is placed on moments the residents have lived through, such as the Moon Landing, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and presidential events. A big screen tv is attached to a laptop and an activities member displays photos, news clippings, and YouTube videos throughout.

DEBATE CLUB

A small group of five to 10 residents debate various social topics with an activities member as the moderator. Residents enjoy sharing their opinions on social and political topics. These meetings can get heated, but everyone walks away having learned something and appreciating a different perspective.

VEGETABLE GARDEN

The Bridges at Warwick has several raised vegetable gardens both in traditional care and memory care. The raised garden beds allow residents to enjoy gardening without putting excess strain on their lower back and knees. Residents enjoy planting, pruning, watering, and picking vegetables. The harvest is used by our chefs for meals served to the residents. Popular vegetables included squash, zucchini, lettuce, and cherry tomatoes.

THEMED SPORTING EVENTS: OLYMPICS, TURKEY TROT, WINTER GAMES.

Our physical and occupational therapy team work in conjunction with activities staff to coordinate two to three large sporting events throughout the year. Nearly every resident participates in some way. Teams are set, residents wear color-coded shirts/uniforms, and there are events suitable for every level of function. Popular events include a wheelchair relay race, ring toss, rolling walker sprint, and marksmanship (nerf gun target shoot),

GOOGLE MAPS: REMINISCE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD 

Residents recall their previous addresses and activity member plugs it into google maps. Google Streetview is projected onto our big screen TV, and residents are able to “walk through” their old stomping grounds and tell stories about their childhood. I have personally done this with our residents in memory care, and it’s amazing to see the memories arise when a resident can see the house and street where they grew up.

RESIDENT NEWSLETTER

Residents are interviewed once a month and asked to share important milestones in their life. Birthdays, anniversaries, a birth of a grandchild (or more commonly, great grandchild), achievements of their children, are all celebrated and developed into a newsletter. This helps residents get to know one another on a personal level and share the important moments of their life.

RESIDENT OF THE MONTH

Residents with outstanding participation in our FOX Optimal Living exercise classes are recognized. Their picture and “stats” are posted on a large board for all to see. The satisfaction of being recognized for hard work brings an enormous smile to their faces. It also motivates other residents; for example, we have had residents progress from a wheelchair to a walker, and this is incredibly inspiring for all to see.

“POP UP” LIBRARY

After a resident noticed that our beautiful library was underutilized, she developed a pop-up library to encourage her peers to read. Every week she selects 25 to 50 books from our library and places five to 10 books on the ledges outside of resident apartments around the building with a “pop-up library” sign above. Residents are encouraged to take and place books as they please.

FIELD TRIPS

A change of scenery is always refreshing. A shopping trip to Kohl’s and the dollar store, trips to local parks and museums, going out to vote, or just a drive through town with the windows down, are a few of things residents enjoy most.

COOKING CLASS

A member from activities selects a recipe, usually a dessert, and walks residents through the recipe as she or he prepares it. This activity promotes resident engagement and sharing of their own techniques, as well as reminiscing on family memories and recipes. At the end, residents (and staff) enjoy the finished product. Some of the recent favorites have been peach cobbler, chocolate chip cookies, and fruit smoothies. In addition to instituting fun and varied activities, it’s important that we market them to our residents in a variety of ways. After all, if they don’t know about an activity, they won’t attend!

A daily handout provided at breakfast is the most effective way to get the word out along with bulletin boards located near elevators, activities staff personally inviting residents within their rooms, and personal invitations written and posted to apartment doors for extra special events.