The World Health Organisation (2004) has predicted
a global demographic revolution, with the current
600 million strong older population expected to double
by the year 2025. This has highlighted the need to
ensure that older people are able to maintain healthy,
active and satisfied lives beyond retirement (Parker 1996,
Stanley and Cheek 2003). For individuals living in the
United Kingdom (UK) in 2007, lifestyle, including
retirement, is vastly different from that of 50 years ago in its social, political, economic, health and technological aspects, all of which have an effect on the individual. One area of lifestyle and categories of occupations that is of interest to occupational therapists is leisure (Griffin and McKenna 1998).
Leisure occupations can include active, passive and
social activities, all of which can contribute to good health and wellbeing in the later years (Black and Living 2004). Older people are at a stage of life where they may have an abundance of discretionary time, for example when faced with retirement. Health professionals need to gain a
greater understanding of the individual meanings and
experiences associated with occupations, including those
participated in for leisure (Sellar and Boshoff 2006).