Identification of Subgroups of Activity Participation in Group of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Occupational therapy in public health is advancing for groups of older adults, but few studies have focused on measuring population-based activity engagement. This study aimed to identify subgroups based on the daily activity pattern of community-dwelling older adults. Japanese older adults aged ≥65 years responded to a 128-activity-item questionnaire. Sparse principal component analysis was applied to summarize the activities, and k-means clustering was used to identify subgroups. Respondents were divided into three subgroups (subgroup 1: n = 39, high instrumental/leisure and social/cognitive activity; subgroup 2: n = 51, high instrumental/leisure and low social/cognitive activity; subgroup 3: n = 44, low instrumental/leisure and social/cognitive activity). The three subgroups were associated with sociodemographics (sex, area, education, and activity level) ( p < .05). This study highlighted the activity-based subgroups of older adults and provided a novel viewpoint regarding occupation-based community assessments in addition to previous community occupational therapy practice.