Effects of video-assisted leisure education on leisure, loneliness, and affect of older adults.

We used a nonrandom pretest, post-test control group experimental design to compare effects of a leisure education program, Project BHEL, involving 52 older adults (ages 71-98, M = 85) residing in three continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) in a county in Northeastern United States. The program consists of sessions with instructional video discussions and learning activities to help adults set goals associated with leisure knowledge, satisfaction, and engagement, as well as social connections and positive affect, plan to increase leisure, and problem-solve ways to overcome barriers to goal achievement. Results indicated that when compared to a control group, although participants did not show a significant increase in leisure participation, they significantly increased knowledge of leisure, maintained leisure satisfaction, and significantly increased positive affect as they decreased negative affect and trended toward decreased loneliness. Therefore, Project BHEL holds promise as an effective leisure education intervention for older adults.