The investigation of feasibility of recreation based activities on elderly people living in nursing homes in the concept of activity theory

It is aimed that elderly people realize they can fulfill education-based tasks adapted for elderly people related to an enriched activity program which is focused on life problems and life needs by using activity theory and thus, their awareness towards themselves will be supported. Knowing themselves and seeing that they can still be active has a great role in the lives of the elderly. The easiest way to overcome all the obstacles perceived by the elderly is to make use of their leisure. In the light of this, the aim of this study is to make an experimental practice related to decreasing and/or removing the factors restraining leisure participation of the elderly people living in nursing homes who are defined as one of the disadvantaged group by encouraging their voluntary participation in the concept of activity theory. Forming activities that can increase the quality of life of the elderly is a social responsibility. The importance of the study lies beneath the expectations that supporting the elderly by decreasing the effects of inactive life with the planned leisure activities as a society-based practice will both contribute to the literature and to the life philosophy of the elderly with the sustainable activity approach. In the study, qualitative research was used. The study group consists of 20 elderly individuals who are residents of Bornova Nevvar Salih İşgören Nursing Home in the province of İzmir; their age range is 65-87 with a mean of 74. The study design was formed through phenomenology. The methods used in the study are observation, interview and document analysis (diaries). In the analysis of the data, descriptive and content analysis methods of qualitative research were used. The obtained data was written in a document and analyzed in Nvivo for Windows program. The results of the study consist of pre and post activity results of interviews with the participants about the applied activities, the results related to diaries that the participants wrote during the activities and the results of the observation notes of the instructor who works in the nursing home as the expert view. As a result, it can be said that the participants decreased their perception of obstacles through recreative activities in the concept of activity theory. In addition, these activities contributed to the quality of life of the elderly, allowed them to accept themselves as more useful and make them love sports even more. Keywords: Old Age, Nursing Home, Recreation, Activity Theory.