Optimizing Occupations, Habits, and Routines for Health and Well-Being With Lifestyle Redesign®: A Synthesis and Scoping Review

Abstract

Abstract Importance: Lifestyle Redesign® originated as a preventive occupational therapy intervention for healthy older adults, and it was found to be both effective and cost effective in the Well Elderly Studies initiated in the 1990s. Building on that empirical foundation, the scope of Lifestyle Redesign has been greatly expanded as a general intervention framework addressing prevention and chronic condition management in a wide range of populations, settings, and conditions. Yet until now, its full scope, defining characteristics, and supporting evidence have not been clearly and succinctly described, limiting its potential reach and impact. Objective: To outline the definition and key characteristics of Lifestyle Redesign, provide a scoping review of its evidence base and future directions for research, describe its current applications, and make recommendations for its use in clinical practice. Evidence Review: We searched PubMed and CINAHL, tables of contents of 10 occupational therapy journals, and citations in two seminal Lifestyle Redesign publications to identify articles published in 1997–2020 that described quantitative outcomes (for n ≥ 20) of interventions meeting the defining characteristics of Lifestyle Redesign. Findings: Our scoping review yielded 12 publications providing supportive evidence for Lifestyle Redesign’s positive impact on a range of health and well-being outcomes among both well populations and those with chronic conditions. Conclusions and Relevance: Lifestyle Redesign has the potential to meet a growing need in clinical and community settings for health care services that address prevention, health promotion, and chronic disease management. What This Article Adds: Current evidence supports the use of Lifestyle Redesign to improve health and well-being for a range of client populations. This review outlines its defining characteristics and current applications to improve its implementation in clinical practice and expand related research efforts.