Health Management Workshops for Older Adults Using Metacognitive Strategies

Research Objectives: To investigate the impact of health management workshops using metacognitive strategies on developing health management skills in the community.

Design: Quantitative evaluation methods were used to evaluate program success defined by changes in participants’ confidence managing their health, perceived importance managing health, and metacognitive skill use. Aggregate pre-session and post-session scores were analyzed for each of the three program sessions.

Setting: A local senior center in the Northeast.

Participants: Older adults aged 60 and over who were well enough to attend the senior center in person.

Interventions: Over a three-month period three separate 75-minute workshops were held at a local senior center focused on vital sign monitoring, scheduling health-related appointments, and meal planning. Each workshop integrated metacognitive techniques such as planning, performance prediction, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation to promote problem-solving and critical thinking during health management activities.

Main Outcome Measures: Outcome measures for each session include a pre and post session test to determine participants’ confidence managing their health, and metacognitive skill use. Pre and post session tests were comprised of 11 questions each rated on a 10-point Likert scale. 2 questions measured perceived importance of and confidence with health management, and 9 questions measured metacognitive capabilities adapted from the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory.

Results: Results indicated a significant improvement in two keys areas: the sense of control participants felt they have over how well they learn new health management skills (p= 0.038) and their ability to use helpful health management strategies more automatically (p= 0.041).

Conclusions: This program showcases the success of using a metacognitive approach to teach health management skills and the vital role occupational therapists play in developing health management skills through occupation-based methods in the community.

Author(s) Disclosures: None