Day to day
Leslie Groves is a not-for-profit charitable organisation in Dunedin which provides residential care for those in need, particularly the elderly. Leslie Groves also provides a day programme for people who are living in the community with cognitive issues. Alexa Andrew at Leslie Groves asked if our Occupational Therapy students could help develop the day programme.
Prue Boult and Kelsey Bennett started by attending the programme on four days to observe what was already being done. Their recommendations to strengthen the programme included:
- There was an opportunity to integrate more with rest home residents.
- The programme would benefit from more sensory elements.
- An alternative activity could be available rather than only offering one option at a time.
- Activities should be designed to cater for different levels of ability.
- There was an opportunity to design activities to build on what had been done the previous week.
Prue and Kelsey also investigated options for group outings, with a focus on accessibility and fun. They identified nine possibilities for consideration by Leslie Groves including a private art workshop, a tool demonstration, the Botanical Gardens, the SPCA, the Sports Hall of Fame and Toitū Otago Settlers Museum.
The project was well received by both the
current facilitators of the day program and Alexa. The proposed community outings could also be used with the wider community of
Leslie Groves' residents. The students supplied Leslie Grove with detailed manuals on what improvements they could make and the
research evidence to back this up.