A live online exercise program for older adults improves depression and life-space mobility: A mixed-methods pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Older adults face several barriers to exercise participation, including transportation, lack of access, and poor weather conditions. Such barriers may influence whether older adults meet the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. Recently, older adults have adopted technology for healthcare and are increasingly using digital health technologies to improve their access to care. Therefore, technology may be a valuable tool to reduce barriers to exercise and increase exercise participation rates within this population. OBJECTIVE We aimed to explore older adults’ perceptions and experiences of exercise, in general, and specifically related to our live online exercise program for community-dwelling older adults. METHODS Registered kinesiologists and physiotherapists delivered an 8-week, thrice-weekly live online group-based exercise program for older adults. The program focused on strength, balance, and aerobic activity. Following the program, a qualitative study with interpretive description design was conducted to explore participants’ perceptions and experiences. Participants were invited to take part in a 30-minute, one-on-one semi-structured interview via Zoom with a research team member. Interview data were thematically analyzed to identify common themes. RESULTS Twenty-two older adults (16 women, 6 men; 70±4 y) participated in interviews. Three themes were identified: 1) health, exercise, and aging beliefs; 2) the pandemic interruption and impacts; and 3) synchronous online exercise programs attenuate barriers to exercise. Participants discussed their exercise beliefs and behaviours and their desire to safely and correctly participate in exercise. Older adults found that their physical activity was curtailed, routines disrupted, and access to in-person exercise programs revoked due to the pandemic. However, many suggested that our synchronous online exercise program was motivational and attenuated commonly reported environmental barriers to participation, such as transportation concerns (e.g., time spent travelling, driving, and parking), accessibility and convenience by participating at a location of their choice, and removing travel-related concerns during poor weather conditions. CONCLUSIONS Given these reported experiences, we posit that synchronous online exercise programs may help motivate and maintain adherence to exercise programs for older adults. These findings may be leveraged to improve health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. CLINICALTRIAL NCT04627493

635 Understanding parent perceptions of healthy physical activity for their child with a chronic medical condition

BackgroundOlder adults face several barriers to exercise participation, including transportation, lack of access, and poor weather conditions. Such barriers may influence whether older adults meet the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. Recently, older adults have adopted technology for health care and are increasingly using digital health technologies to improve their access to care. Therefore, technology may be a valuable tool to reduce barriers to exercise and increase exercise participation rates within this population.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore older adults’ perceptions and experiences of exercise, in general, and specifically related to our synchronous online exercise program for community-dwelling older adults.MethodsA total of 3 registered kinesiologists and 1 physiotherapist with experience working with older adults delivered an 8-week, thrice-weekly synchronous online group-based exercise program for older adults in 3 cohorts. The program focused on strength, balance, and aerobic activity. Following the program, a qualitative study with interpretive descriptive design was conducted to explore participants’ perceptions and experiences. Participants were invited to take part in a 30-minute, one-on-one semistructured interview via Zoom with a research team member. Interview data were thematically analyzed to identify common themes.ResultsA total of 22 older adults (16 women, 6 men; mean age 70, SD 4 years) participated in interviews. Three themes were identified as follows: (1) health, exercise, and aging beliefs; (2) the pandemic interruption and impacts; and (3) synchronous online exercise programs attenuate barriers to exercise. Participants discussed their exercise beliefs and behaviors and their desire to safely and correctly participate in exercise. Older adults found that their physical activity was curtailed, routines disrupted, and access to in-person exercise programs revoked due to the pandemic. However, many suggested that our synchronous online exercise program was motivational and attenuated commonly reported environmental barriers to participation, such as transportation concerns (eg, time spent traveling, driving, and parking), accessibility and convenience by participating at a location of their choice, and removing travel-related concerns during poor weather conditions.ConclusionsGiven these reported experiences, we posit that synchronous online exercise programs may help motivate and maintain adherence to exercise programs for older adults. These findings may be leveraged to improve health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults.

IntroductionThe most promising way to promote active life years in old age is to promote regular participation in physical activity (PA). Maintaining lower extremity muscle function with good balance has...

Aim: Arnis is the national martial art of the Philippines. Similar to Tai Chi, a martial art with established therapeutic effects, it can improve the balance control of older adults. However, there has been no study conducted to prove this. This study aimed to design and evaluate an Arnis-based exercise program to improve the static and dynamic balance control of community-dwelling Filipino older adults. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study using the Delphi Method was conducted. A 12-week moderate-intensity Arnis-based exercise program for older adults was designed. A Physical Therapist, Geriatrician, Sports Scientist, Arnis Expert, and Senior Citizen separately evaluated the video-recorded exercise program. Semi-structured interviews were individually completed online to gather their feedback. Three researchers completed the thematic analysis. Results: Four themes represented the evaluation of the Arnis-based exercise program: Program presentation, Participant consideration, Program aspects, and safety provisions. After one round of interviews, a strong consensus was reached based on the program's appropriateness, difficulty level, benefits, and feasibility for older adults. However, the exercise program needs to be revised to improve on the aspects of safety, instructions, structure, and progression. Conclusion and Implications: The resource persons recommend the Arnis-based exercise program as an appropriate and feasible intervention to improve the static and dynamic balance control of older adults. However, the second round of interviews is recommended to evaluate further the revised program. More studies also are necessary to establish the actual effect of this Arnis-based exercise program using experimental design.

Life-space mobility (LSM) is associated with the quality of life and well-being of older adults, and it is influenced by individual and environmental factors. However, age-related differences are ignored. This study aimed to explore which factors are associated with LSM in community-dwelling older adults from two age groups (< 75 and≥75 years). This cross-sectional study included older adults aged 65 and over, independently mobile, without neurologic conditions or dementia. LSM, the dependent variable, was assessed using the Life-Space Assessment-(LSA). Independent variables were assessed using Timed Up and Go-(TUG) for mobility, Montreal Cognitive Assessment-(MoCA) for cognition, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale-(ABC) for fear of falling, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-(HADS) for depression, and four-functional mobility tasks for participation. Additionally, functional status and number of medications were assessed. Two separate stepwise regression models were conducted for older adults aged< 75 and≥75 years. Two-hundred forty-two older adults (28.9% men) were included [mean(SD) age: 73.7(6.4) years], of whom 40.9% were≥75 years. Results revealed that different factors were associated with LSM in each age group. For those< 75 years, participation and TUG explained 33% and 9.4% of the variance in LSM, respectively. Conversely, for the older group, ABC, MoCA, and TUG explained 33.5%, 4.1% and 5.2% of the variance in LSM, respectively. Our finding shows that distinct factors are associated with LSM in each group, particularly mobility in the younger and fear of falling in the older. By highlighting these specific factors, interventions can be tailored more effectively to enhance the quality of life and well-being of older adults.

Stakeholder involvement in the design of a patient-centered comparative effectiveness trial of the “On the Move” group exercise program in community-dwelling older adults

A case-control study to investigate the relation between low and moderate levels of physical activity and osteoarthritis of the knee using data collected as part of the Allied Dunbar National...

ObjectivesTo examine the association of intrinsic capacity (IC) with life-space mobility (LSM) among community-dwelling older adults and to determine whether age and gender modify this relationship.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingPublic housing blocks, senior...

BackgroundWe conceptualized out-of-home mobility as life space mobility and autonomy outdoors. Both are correlated with quality of life and influenced by multiple underlying factors. We used a complex systems approach and network models to explore changes in networks consisting of out-of-home mobility indicators and their determinants before, during and two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsParticipants were older adults aged 75, 80 and 85 years at baseline (2017–2018), with follow-ups in 2020 and 2021–2022 (n = 607). Life-space mobility, autonomy outdoors, and socio-demographic, physical, psychosocial, financial, and environmental determinants were assessed using the same validated scales at all three time points. Mixed graphical model networks were estimated for each time point. Differences in network properties and the relative importance of determinants associated with life-space mobility and autonomy outdoors were compared across time points.ResultsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, both life-space mobility and autonomy outdoors declined (P < .05). Throughout the follow-up, walking difficulty and sex remained consistently associated with life-space mobility and psychosocial factors with autonomy outdoors. At the onset of the pandemic, being female (vs male) was more strongly associated with reduced autonomy outdoors than at other times, while the associations with older age and poorer health were weaker.ConclusionsThe pandemic reduced older adults’ out-of-home mobility and altered the factors underlying it. During the pandemic, environmental support for out-of-home mobility diminished as destinations of interest for older people were closed. This especially affected women, potentially leading to less favorable participation trajectories in the future.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between physical activity level and health-related quality of life in community-dwelling middle aged and older adults in Egypt. Between May and August 2017, a cross-sectional study of 184 middle-aged and older adults between the ages of 55 and 64 years old (129 males and 55 females) with a mean age of 58 ± 4.3 years old participated in this study. Study participants were classified into 3 groups based on their level of physical activity (walking duration); low level of physical activity (<150 minutes/week), moderate level of physical activity (150–300 minutes/week), and high level of physical activity (>300 minutes/week). The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was calculated using the Euro-Quality of life-5dimensions-3 levels scale questionnaire (EuroQol-5D-3L). Spearman's correlation coefficient was performed to determine the correlation between the physical activity level and HRQoL scores in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. The results showed a significant correlation between the physical activity levels and HRQoL dimensions. Significant differences were observed in the HRQoL scores between high, moderate and low-physical activity groups (P < .05). The moderate and high-physical activity groups had significantly higher HRQoL scores in all dimensions than low-physical activity group. The low-physical activity group showed a high predominance of the chronic disease compared to the high and moderate physical activity groups. It was concluded that high and moderate levels of physical activity have a great positive relationship with the HRQoL in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults in Egypt. Recommendations should be dedicated to supporting the active lifestyle among the different population, particularly middle-aged and older adults.

Purpose To describe life-space mobility (LSM) and its relationship with physical capacity (PC) (walking endurance, walking speed, leg strength, balance), and outdoor walking in older adults with difficulty walking outdoors. Methods A secondary analysis of baseline data from 173 adults aged ≥ 65 years with mobility limitations in the Getting Older Adults Outdoors (GO-OUT) study was conducted. LSM was measured using the Life-space Assessment (LSA), and PC was assessed using the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), 10-meter walk test (10mWT) at a comfortable and fast pace, 30-second sit-to-stand (30sSTS), and mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (mini-BESTest). The relationship between scores on PC measures and outdoor walking time, assessed by the CHAMPS-OUTDOORS questionnaire, and LSA score, was examined using Spearman correlations and backward stepwise regression modelling, adjusted for age and sex. Results Mean LSA score was 64.6 ± 20.2. Scores on each study measure had a fair and positive correlation (p < 0.01) with LSA score: 6MWT (ρ = 0.42), 10mWT (ρ = 0.44, 0.45), 30sSTS (ρ = 0.43), mini-BESTest (ρ = 0.43), and CHAMPS-OUTDOORS (ρ = 0.28). The final regression model, including 10mWT, 30sSTS, mini-BESTest, explained 31% of LSA score variance. Conclusion PC and outdoor walking time relate to LSM in community-dwelling older adults with difficulty walking outdoors, though outdoor walking time has a weaker correlation with LSM.

The purposes of this review are to describe the unique needs and preferences of older adults with cancer regarding physical activity and to outline the essential characteristics associated with increased physical activity resulting from lifestyle interventions in older adults. Functional decline is accelerated in inactive and sedentary older adults. Even a modest increase in physical activity can improve physical function for older cancer survivors. Participation in physical activity is influenced by diverse individual-level factors, behavioral characteristics and skills and social and environmental factors. Thus, programs that are tailored to older adults' preferences provide social support and remove obstacles to participation may be more effective, particularly for older adults with low physical activity and sedentary lifestyle.

Objectives: To determine the effects of gymnastics on the health related quality of life (HRQoL) and functional status of independently living people, aged 65 to 80 years. Gymnastics formed part...

Translation of a Motor Learning Walking Rehabilitation Program Into a Group-Based Exercise Program for Community-Dwelling Older Adults