Introduction: With aging, the psychophysical abilities decline, and due to various illnesses, older individuals may abandon activities and roles, becoming increasingly dependent on the help of others. As a result, some decide to move to nursing homes. Occupational therapists engage older adults in meaningful activities that promote well-being, satisfaction, and a higher quality of life. Treatments also include creative activities such as arts, music, dance, and theater. Purpose: Investigate the use of creative activities in the treatment of older adults among Slovenian occupational therapists employed in nursing homes. Work methods: A questionnaire was used in the quantitative research, which was answered by 87 to 58 occupational therapists employed in nursing homes in Slovenia. To test the hypotheses, we used the binomial test, Wilcoxon test for dependent samples, and the t-test for one sample. Results: More than half (57%) of the respondents use musical activities in their treatment of older adults several times a month, while almost half (47%) use artistic activities. Most respondents (57%) use theatrical activities a few times a year and slightly less than half (44%) use dance activities. The majority of respondents (60%) never use doll activities. In group form the most commonly used activities are dance (97%) and music (95%). Creative writing is most often used in individual form (52%). Most respondents agree that creative activities have positive effects on users, the largest percentage of agreement speaks of the fact that they enable them better social contacts and socializing (61%). On average, the respondents mostly agree that they have enough knowledge in the areas of art and dance activities, while they need the most additional knowledge from the field of doll activities. Discussion and conclusion: Occupational therapists should be attentive when selecting appropriate creative activities for older adults based on their abilities and interests. With involvement in creative activities, older adults maintain their skills, improve their self-esteem, increase their satisfaction and well-being, and thus also their quality of life. In the future, further research is needed in the field of the use of creative activities in occupational therapy and additional training of occupational therapists.
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