The influence of leisure activities on the health and welfare of older people living in nursing home

Background: Leisure activities, often left in the background throughout life, play an important role for older persons. They are activities that they like to accomplish, according to individual preferences that make it easier to maintain an active life, on a physical, mental and social level, improving their health. Objectives: I) Identify the leisure habits of older people living in nursing homes; II) Describe the nursing homes’offer of leisure activities; III) Identify relationships between leisure activities and the seniors’health condition. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study, in 12 nursing homes in the north of Portugal with a sample of 1,131 seniors. We performed a descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis using SPSS/PC for Windows, version 22. Results: Participants were mostly female, widows, with an average age of 84 years. The most common leisure activity is watching TV. Impaired sight and illiteracy are the most frequent causes of elderly people’s non-adherence to leisure activities. Leisure activities: card/board games, crafts and reading are associated with better cognitive performance; sightseeing and reading are associated with greater independence in self-care; watching television is associated with greater compromise of bodily processes and greater dependence on self-care; performing manual work is associated with less depression; walking is associated with a lower compromise of bodily processes and lower risk of falling. Conclusions: Leisure habits are important in maintaining the health of older people living in nursing homes.