Wellness Intervention for Older Adults with Chronic Illness
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Chronic illness on elderly people has become rampant and of great concern. Medical intervention makes it possible for people to live longer and to survive more severe injury and pain. (Brown, 2003). Chronic illness can lead to isolation, depression, occupational deprivation among others effects. Occupational Therapists intend to know the evidence concerning nonpharmaceutical mind-body interventions that are more likely to increased participations.
The objective of this study was to evaluate mind –body interventions for the elderly adult with chronic pain. I randomly sampled one hundred and twenty patients from different hospitals within Miami. The response gave instruction in mind and body relationship, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, communication and behavioral treatment for insomnia, nutrition and exercise, meditation, hypnosis, yoga and guided imagery. A structured review evaluated pain reduction, feasibility, and safety. I used studies in Medline and PsycINFO to retrieve the data. 40 samples out of 120 include older adults with chronic illness aged between 60 to 75 years for one year follow up. I excluded samples of chronic nonmalignant pain. I selected twenty two and eighteen samples for men and women respectively. The outcome measures varied by the study, it took into consideration of depression scale, chronic pain acceptance questionnaire health, arthritis impact measurements, health-promoting lifestyle profile and visual analog scale. 30 samples included participant who aged 60 to 70 years, ten samples analyzed participant who aged between 70 to 75 years. At post-treatment, the participant had a significant improvement in pain, anxiety, insomnia and depression in comparison with the controls there was some support for the meditation for improving function in older adults with low back pain as compared to the efficacy of muscle relaxation and guided imagery. Mind-body medicine interaction with brain, mind, body and behavior, the ways in which emotional, spiritual, social and behavioral factors affects the health. Mindfulness meditation resulted in greater pain reduction and improvement in physical function. 25 participants agreed that mindful meditation worked best, improved pain acceptance and service.10 member believed that pain reduction improved memory, decision making, and reduced stress while 5 participants agreed that doctor has control and pain is internally controlled.
From the analysis of records kept by the participants on the meditation-based program for chronic back pains, other than pain reduction there was decreased stress, improved memory, and decision making.
In conclusion, chronic pain can have lasting effects on clients, it is important for the therapist to use the intervention that patients can cope with. Meditation and other mind-body intervention proved to be most accepted mind-body intervention. Thou no treatment was described as the best practice, there is a need to analyze which intervention work best with which clients and the duration of treatments. The intervention should be safe leading to increased function and capture the accurate outcome.

References
Brown, C.A. (2003). Service users’ and occupational therapists’ beliefs about effective treatments for chronic pain: a meeting of the minds or the great divide? Disability and Rehabilitation, 25(19), 1115-1125