Introduction: Aging is a natural process accompanied by social, psychological and biological changes. These have a major impact on the functioning of the elderly and consequently on the functions of the hands. Occupational therapy plays an important role in maintaining and restoring the functions of the hands. Purpose: The purpose of the theoretical part of the thesis is to present the processes of aging, and the impact of aging on the functions of the hands, the impact on participation in occupations and, consequently, on the quality of life of the elderly. The purpose of the empirical part of the diploma work is to determine the effects of the additional occupational therapy program on the functions of the hands and the implementation of occupations. Methods: An experimental quantitative research method of work was used in the research. We selected a group of 20 users from the home for the elderly, which we divided into experimental and control group. The inclusion criterion was the absence of musculoskeletal and cognitive impairments that would have an impact on hand functions. Users were selected so that individuals did not have severe associated diseases, such as stroke, severe rheumatoid problems and severe traumatic injuries. In the experimental group, in addition to the normal course of everyday life, we added an additional occupational therapy intervention, aimed at gaining or maintaining hand functions, which was performed every day after lunch and lasted from hour and a half to two hours. We performed initial and final evaluations with users on the MoVi Activation table, dynamometer and pinch-meter. The entire course of the research lasted 2 months. Results: The study involved 5 men and 15 women. The average age of users in the experimental group was 84.8 years, and in the control group 80.6 years. During the evaluation on the MoVi Activation table, we noticed improvements in the experimental group on all tasks covered by this evaluation. When evaluating with a dynamometer, we observed an improvement in palm grip strength in all users in the experimental group. In pinch-meter evaluation, we also observed an improvement in finger grip strength in all users in the experimental group. Discussion and conclusion: In the diploma work, we focused on the functions of the hand, as they are the interface through which individuals communicate, manipulate objects and engage in or with the environment. We believe that this type of intervention is very important for the elderly, as it allows them to participate in their favorite activities, which in turn brings better performance and user satisfaction.
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