Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether elderly individuals would demonstrate differences in quality of movement when completing a water-pouring task under different levels of perceived risk (i.e., pouring hot water vs. pouring cold water during beverage preparation). Fifty individuals over the age of 65 (M=72.1 years, SD=6.3) participated in the repeated measures, counterbalanced design. Results indicated that participants used less efficient movement dynamics when pouring hot water (higher risk) than when pouring cold water (lower risk). Elders tended to take longer and make more adjustments when pouring hot water than when pouring cold water. Occupational therapists can use this information to better understand the movement dynamics needed during everyday occupations and design therapeutic interventions that appropriately challenge clients.
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