Retired occupational therapists' experiences in volunteer occupations.

As the baby boomer generation, born 1945-1963, begins its transition to retirement, what might be the position of volunteering within their new life structure? Using retired occupational therapists as a purposive sample (n = 50), this survey provides a description of the volunteer experience in three distinct phases: 1) Pre-retirement contemplation and preparation; 2) Actions, thoughts and feelings during the volunteer experience; and 3) Thoughts and feelings related to ending their volunteer roles. Results reveal that while retirees are highly motivated by altruism and the wish to stay engaged and connected with others through volunteering, they often find the existing structure of the organizations unable and unwilling to provide the kinds of volunteer roles that meet their needs and goals. These findings closely align with evidence from multidisciplinary and public health literature on civic engagement in the Third Age, retired but not disabled. In conclusion, results imply three new roles for occupational therapy practitioners with volunteering: 1) Promoting volunteer exploration and participation for older adult clients with disabilities; 2) Providing group interventions for Third Agers transitioning to retirement; and 3) Consulting with the organizations that depend on volunteers to guide them in revising the way they define and organize volunteer roles. Study is limited to one specific population but paves the way for replication with a broader range of participants.

Changes in activity and interest in the third and fourth age: associations with health, functioning and depressive symptoms.

This study examines the changes in activity investment among older adults and the role of these changes in the relationship between health limitations and depression. Residents of six senior living facilities (N = 178) completed questionnaires including the Geriatric Depression Scale, health and functioning measures and the Revised Change in Activity and Interest Index (CAII-R) which measures self-perceived changes in the level of investment in social and leisure activities among older adults. Respondents indicated more disengagement from CAII-R subscales Active Instrumental (AI) and Active Social (AS) and increased engagement in Passive Social Spiritual. Fourth Age adults (age 80+) reported greater reductions in AI than Third Age adults (age 64-79). Reduced AS investment had the strongest association with depression and mediated the relationship between poor health or functioning and depression. These categories of activity may guide occupational therapy practitioners and other health providers in selecting the focus of intervention for older clients according to their identified life stage. The study provides evidence of distinct differences in interests within the parameters of normal aging and a baseline from which to assess the impact of illness and disability on the activity choices for clients in different life stages.