The 6th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

The Contribution of an Intervention Program for Improving Quality of Life of Older Adults

Rona Bar-Netzer 1 Muşata Bocoş 2
1The Academic College at Wingate, Netanya, Israel
2Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of a new intervention program for older adults (FORCE). The FORCE Program represents an innovative approach to health promotion with older adults integrating psycho-education and exercising core muscles, for improving daily quality of life (QOL). The research conceptual framework was based on the Whole Person Wellness Model and the Trans Theoretical Model – Stages of Change. Ninety-five women and 11 men aged 60-90 participated in the program for 12 months. Three groups took part in the study: (1) core muscle workout (CM: n=28), (2) core muscle workout with home equipment (CMI: n=59), and (3) a control group (CG): n=19). The effect of the intervention was assessed by the SF-36 Health Survey Quality of Life Questionnaire before and after the intervention program. Eight parameters of QOL were examined: physical functioning, limited physical health, limited emotional health, energy, emotional well-being, social functioning, general health, and pain. The results show significant improvement following the program on 7 out of the 8 parameters related to QOL in both experimental groups compared to the control group. These finding were further supported in the research when participants reported undergoing improvement in their quality of life and their capabilities in everyday activities. The conclusions indicate the potential for developing new methods to substantially improve the quality of life and well-being of the growing aging population.









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