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Within the first week of program implementation, there has been a lot to reflect on. The first session occurred on June 28th. We had a total of 6 participants attended. Session one included information and activities on sedentary lifestyles. The second session occurred on July 7th and focused on chronic conditions. A total of 5 participants attended that session. The third session occurred Wednesday, July 8th. This session was on endurance and energy levels, and a total of 4 participants attended. The last session we have had so far was Sunday, July 11th. This session included information on time management and had a total of 3 participants attend.

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Our first session had us very hopeful. We had put a lot of effort and time into planning our sessions. Within this session, it seemed that participants understood why sedentary lifestyles are harmful, but many had disclosed that motivation was a crucial factor in activity level. For example, one participant had identified losing his wife right before the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions begun. For him, losing his wife meant he lost a source of motivation to be more active. Another participant described how having a dog forced him to be more active during the isolating times of the pandemic. For the next session on sedentary lifestyle, I feel more information on motivation may be more receptive to the session's education portion. Also, one participant asked for a printout of the schedule, which we did not have at the time :(. We definitely made sure to have them for the next session.

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This session was one of the sessions I designed materials for, specifically when we had divided up the work among us. I was definitely nervous!!

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Overall, the session went well. We had 5 participants with three repeat participants! Chronic conditions talked about chronic pain, hazards in the home, low vision, and proper body mechanics. The progressive muscle relaxation handout was a big hit, and many people enjoyed the three handouts available. The hazards in the home activity was an interactive time for the whole group, and many participants were conversing with each other. The proper body mechanics game was also fun, and having prizes, I think, helped the participants retain and understand the information more.

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This was the second session I was leading! This session had 4 participants who had all at least attended one session before. It is validating to have repeat participants because at least some part of the program is resonating or helpful. I feel like this program has been the start of what working with clients is like one on one. Yes, we did have some experience in level one fieldwork experiences, but I feel that actually doing instead of observing has been really rewarding for me. In this session, participants interacted more with each other, and we learned a lot more about all the participants, especially during the bingo activity. One important note to make is that within our PowerPoint, we had resources listed for local places to utilize low-intensity workouts and fun activities; however, we did not have a handout to give. However, we did get emails to email any and all information to our participants that they had requested. This is definitely something we should consider for the following sessions.

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This session on time management had only three people. I was a little bummed to see that it was only three, as I feel like there may be a steady decline in participants. However, one regular participant stated she would be out of town and asked if we could send any information on the missed session to her. It is interesting to note that the three participants were all repeat participants. It is nice to have the same participants attend as I feel a therapeutic relationship continues to progress. A sense of community has been established, which was an essential value to the church population and a part of our mission statement. We had four very interactive activities, and I think my favorite one was building the puzzles.

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We had our fifth session on Monday! This session was on grief, loss, and isolation, and we had a total of 5 participants. This session was a little emotional for people, and one activity that we had about writing a letter to a loved one was not as well-received as we initially thought. However, we changed gears and gave supplies to write the letters independently, and many people enjoyed that more. I feel that this scenario is similar to what real-life clinical experience is. Not everything will go to plan, and as OT practitioners, we need to have the ability to adapt and switch up treatments or activities while still providing the best care possible.
I also felt that this treatment session highlighted the sense of community we had throughout our group. We have built relationships with our participants that allowed them to talk about their losses and experiences of isolation due to the pandemic. Many people shared, and it was nice to see participants comment on other participants' experiences. It was not hard to facilitate the discussion about some of these more complex subjects, and I believe it was therapeutic for the participants as well. Furthermore, this particular session presented a real-life scenario of how we navigate around intricate and complex topics to hone in on that therapeutic use of self that we have learned about through undergraduate studies.

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Our last session of the program was bitter-sweet for me. On the one hand, it felt great to accomplish implementing a program and interacting with participants. Still, on the other hand, I feel sad that it is ending, especially as we had built a sort of community in the brief amount of time we had at the church. This last session had 6 participants with two people who had not attended any of the previous sessions. We had 4 participants who went to at least three other sessions come back for this last one as well. For this session, we took feedback from the previous session on sedentary lifestyles and added more information about motivation. Participants seemed to enjoy this aspect, and I feel that including a suggestion is necessary to retain participants. The chair yoga activity was definitely a hit. One participant stated that he had wished we did that during every session.

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Furthermore, introducing a low-intensity activity such as chair yoga was definitely well received. For example, one participant had even approached us asking if we would consider ever coming back to the church and helping to facilitate another group exercise such as the chair yoga routine regularly such as weekly, monthly, etc. After hearing that, it made me wonder what we could have done more to recruit more participants as I feel that more people would have benefited from the program. Our program dates were posted on the website, the Facebook group and even announced during church services. With plenty of avenues to promote our program, it was interesting to see that although we had 16 people complete our survey for the needs assessment, we only had 3-6 participants show up to each session. I think this is the vital part of program designing that can be the hardest at times, such as recruiting and then retaining participants.

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Our program implementation went well, and that the whole process beginning with the needs assessment and ending with program evaluation, has been an eye-opening, challenging, and fun experience. I REALLY enjoyed (and appreciated) how feedback was built into the class and how we submit our assignments because I felt that component helped refine and produce a better quality of work overall. Learning the program implementation from start to finish helps define what a program should encompass clearly. I believe this helps contribute to feeling prepared and confident for the actual performance of the designed program. I also felt that my group did well supporting each other and dividing the work. I can honestly say that it was fun, especially implementing the program and having the ability to make those therapeutic connections with participants. With the last session, one of the newcomers asked us to pass along some resources from past sessions, so again, I have been wondering how we could have reached more people. I think if I were ever allowed the opportunity to implement a program again at the same location, I would want to specifically hone in on maximizing recruitment and try to get more insight from key stakeholders on that component. It was very validating to hear participants say that they enjoyed the program and felt that what information we presented and the activities we came up with were essential and, at times, fun. Overall, I am just extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to interact with real humans, especially after what we had missed out on in other classes due to COVID-19.