The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an empowerment program, using horticultural therapy among the elderly clients of an In-Home Service Center at a Community Social Welfare Center. The empowerment program applied in this study included group horticultural activities, garden activities, home horticultural activities, selling the products and a self-help group. This program had 49 sessions in total and was held from April 2004 to February 2005. The results of this research are as follows.
According to the results of the pre-, mid-term, and post-test, there were significant improvements among the subjects who participated in the horticultural therapy program, especially in terms of intrapersonal empowerment, and interpersonal empowerment of self-esteem of the elderly using In-Home Services.
Through using those common and familiar sources of horticultural materials, what the elderly found is the fact that they have the ability to create and raise plants of their own and to utilize this ability in their lives.
Thus, it can be said that horticultural therapy program is helpful to empower the elderly in terms of developing their potentials in productivity and encourages them to utilize and maintain their horticultural skills and productivity in their lives.