Participation in leisure activities and tourism among older people with and without disabilities in Poland

[Disability and participation in active leisure activities: results from a Chilean population-based survey]

Leisure activities are necessary to improve the quality of life and good health of the population. Some studies in developed countries have described that people with disabilities participate less in leisure activities. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between disability and participation in active leisure activities in the population aged 18 years or older in Chile, during 2015. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Chilean II National Survey on Disability (ENDISC II) 2015. The independent variable was disability, and the dependent variable was participation in active leisure activities in the last six months. Poisson regression models were developed and prevalence ratios (PR) and the 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated. In total, 12,236 participants were included. Chileans with moderate and severe disability were less likely to participate in active leisure activities (PR = 0.96; 95%CI: 0.93-0.99 and PR = 0.78; 95%CI: 0.72-0.84, respectively), compared to Chileans without disability. When stratified by age group, this association remained significant only in those older than 45 years. In conclusion, people with disabilities in Chile participate less in active leisure activities compared to people without disabilities, although only if they are older than 45 years. Social recreation programs should prioritize the incorporation of older people with disabilities.

Effects of self-monitoring using an accelerometer on physical activity of older people with long-term care insurance in Japan: a randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a self-monitoring intervention to promote an increase in physical activity, as measured by step count, and reduce sedentary behavior in older people covered by the long-term care insurance system (LTCI) in Japan.

METHODS

This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at a daycare center from October 2022 to January 2023. Fifty-two older adults with LTCI who were able to walk with or without aids were assigned to an intervention (n = 26) group and control (n = 26) group. During the 5-week follow-up period, the intervention group received education on physical activity and self-monitoring such as goal setting, self-management and feedback. The primary outcome was step count, and the secondary outcome was sedentary behavior.

RESULTS

Participants who completed the study to the end of the 5-week follow-up and drop-out participants for whom outcome data were available were included in the final analysis of 57 participants, n = 24 (79.8 ± 8.8 years, male 25.5%) in the intervention group and n = 23 (82.5 ± 8.5 years, male 39.1%) in the control group. Comparisons between the two groups at baseline showed no significant differences. In the results of a two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) including 2 (group: control, intervention) × 2 (term: baseline, 5-week follow-up) factors, an interaction was observed in the number of steps, sedentary behavior, and light physical activity (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Self-monitoring of physical activity using an accelerometer may be effective in increasing the number of steps and light physical activity and in reducing sedentary behavior in older people with LTCI.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

UMIN000052044, registered on 2023/08/29.

Understanding factors influencing people with disabilities' participation in sports and cultural activities

BACKGROUND

Improving people with disabilities' participation in sports and cultural activities benefits their physical and mental health. However, only a few studies have examined the factors that influence participation systematically.

METHODS

Using the survey data gathered from 4,319 disabled people living in a district in Wuhan, China, this study explored the impacts of sports and cultural activity participation in terms of individual physiological characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and built environmental features. The sports and cultural facility supply and the walkability index of their community environment were calculated to assess built environment features. Binary logistic regression models were also used to investigate the influence of the aforementioned variables.

RESULTS

There is a significant positive correlation between sports and cultural activity participation and education (OR = 3.44, p < 0.01), employment status (OR = 2.04, p < 0.01), as well as the number of cultural facilities (OR = 1.33, p < 0.01) in the neighborhood area. No significant association was found between the inclination to participate frequently and individual psychological factors.

CONCLUSION

Regarding people with disabilities' participation in sports and cultural activities, socioeconomic and built environment factors are more influential than individual psychological ones. The findings can give ideas for identifying targeted and comprehensive interventions to promote a healthy lifestyle for people with disabilities.

Tourism experiences and the lower risk of mortality in the Chinese elderly: a national cohort study

Background

Cohort studies about the effects of tourism experiences on the risk of death among Chinese older adults are still lacking. We aimed to examine the association between tourism experiences and mortality in Chinese aged 65 or above.

Methods

We included 9520 participants aged 65 years or above from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey at baseline in 23 provinces in 2011. They were followed up in 2014 and 2018. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between tourism experiences and the risk of death.

Results

Among 9520 participants, 7.85% had at least one tourism experience outside of their local city/county during the past 2 years. During 35,994.26 person-years of follow-up, in total 4635 deaths were observed. The crude rate of death was greater in participants who had no tourism experience than in older travelers (incidence rate: 13.70 versus 5.24 per 100 person-years). Elderly travelers had a significantly lower risk for all-cause mortality (crude hazard ratio: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.33–0.44) compared with non-travelers. After adjustment for all covariates, the risk of all-cause mortality was 27% lower among those with at least one tourism experience than among non-travelers (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62–0.85). Subgroup analysis showed that the associations between tourism and the decreased risk of mortality were stable.

Conclusions

Tourism decreases the risk of mortality in the Chinese elderly. Tourism should be considered as a modifiable lifestyle factor and an effective way to reduce mortality and promote longevity and healthy aging.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11099-8.

Gender differences in the association between physical activity and health-related quality of life among community-dwelling elders

BACKGROUND

Physical activity can improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in older adults. However, the differential effects of gender on quality of life are unclear.

AIMS

To determine the association between physical activity and HRQoL in men and women.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study conducted from March to August 2011. Community-dwelling older people aged 65 years or older were eligible. Physical activity in kcal per week was measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)-Taiwan version. HRQoL was measured with the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Cognitive function and depression were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The relationship between physical activity and HRQoL in men and women was investigated by a multiple linear regression model.

RESULTS

A total of 188 older people (M: 50.5%) participated in this study. The mean ages of men and women were 71.9 ± 5.3 and 77.1 ± 6.4 years, respectively (p < 0.001). Older women had higher physical activity levels than men (4786.1 ± 1065.6 vs 4422.2 ± 1114.3 kcal/week, p = 0.023). After adjusting for covariates, multiple linear regression analysis showed that older men with higher physical activity levels had better scores on both the physical component summary (PCS) (p = 0.031) and mental component summary (MCS) (p = 0.007) than men with lower levels. Furthermore, older men with higher moderate-vigorous physical activity levels had better scores on the PCS than older men with lower activity levels, and older men with higher walking physical activity levels had better scores on the MCS than older men with lower activity levels.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, older women were more physically active than older men. However, older men (but not older women) with higher physical activity had better HRQoL. The association between physical activity and HRQoL differed between men and women.

Sociodemographic Determinants of Physical Inactivity of People Aged 60 Years and Older: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland

Purpose

The aim of the study was to evaluate general physical activity (PA) level on the basis of leisure time and transportation physical activity (LTPA and TPA), assess the percentage of persons not meeting PA recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and evaluate the relationship between selected sociodemographic factors and physical inactivity.

Methods

The paper is based on data (n = 7,347) retrieved from five large-scale surveys (2014-2018) used to collect information on the PA of Polish society. In order to meet the aim of the paper, we selected a sample of 2,023 Poles aged ≥ 60 years old. In each wave, the Polish long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to investigate the differences between the types and volume of PA and sociodemographic variables. Relationships between physical inactivity and analysed variables were evaluated using log-linear analysis. To capture relationships between physical inactivity and a set of explanatory variables, a predictive model was built.

Results

The total average energy expenditure amounted to 1879.5 ± 2352.5 MET-min/week, including LTPA (938.5 ± 1491.9 MET-min/week) and TPA (944.8 ± 1322.4 MET-min/week). Over the course of the last two years of the study, the average value of MET-min/week increased significantly (p < 0.05); however, prohealth WHO norms are not met by nearly 40% of Poles. Sex determines the volume of LTPA and TPA (p < 0.05) but does not determine the inactivity of seniors. Place of residence and education differentiate participation in LTPA and TPA. The lower the education level and the smaller the place of residence, the greater the inactivity.

Conclusions

The target for future interventions should be people aged 60+ living in villages and small towns (especially those with primary education). It is necessary to undertake educational and motivational programmes promoting PA. It is essential to develop detailed recommendations and to create a friendly and supportive environment.

Can Allotment Gardens (AGs) Be Considered an Example of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) Based on the Use of Historical Green Infrastructure?

The term nature-based solutions (NBSs) is understood as a multidisciplinary umbrella concept that includes aspects such as green/blue infrastructure and urban gardens and forests. However, the important question here is what features of ecosystem-based approaches are essential for them to be considered nature-based? This study aims to answer this question by analysing the potential of allotment gardens (AGs) to be considered as NBSs. To do so, the possibilities and obstacles regarding a Polish case study were analysed based on the following six research questions: (1) How do AGs use blue and green infrastructure? (2) What problem(s) do AGs solve today? (3) What kind of benefits do AGs provide? (4) Do AGs possess implementation and management capabilities? (5) Can AGs be treated as economically efficient? (6) What are the advantages of AGs versus other possible solution(s)? With regards to obstacles, the study has identified: institutional barriers, irregular distribution of benefits, and deficiencies in economic efficiency. Nevertheless, AGs together with other historical urban green/blue infrastructure may be regarded as a kind of unsophisticated NBS, the effectiveness of which is limited. These solutions may be created as independent structures or (historical) green/blue infrastructure may be enlarged, fitted out, linked, and improved to implement NBS projects.

How do Rural Second Homes Affect Human Health and Well-being? Review of Potential Impacts

Contact with nature is associated with numerous psychological, physiological and social health and well-being benefits. Outdoor recreation, such as rural second home tourism, provides extensive exposure to the natural environment, but research around health impacts of this exposure is scattered. We review current research on health and well-being impacts of nature and discuss how the characteristics of rural second home environments and their use and users can affect these potential impacts in Finland. We discover four key issues affecting the impacts. First, health and well-being impacts depend on the users; urban people can especially benefit from rural second homes, while child development and the performance of elderly people can also be supported by contact with nature at second homes. Second, the regularity, length and season of second home visits influence the potential to receive benefits as they have an impact on the intensity of nature exposure. Third, the type and quality of second home environment affect contact with nature, such as exposure to health-supporting environmental microbes. Fourth, practices, motives and meanings modify activities and attachment and crucially affect both physical and mental well-being. We conclude that rural second homes have extensive potential to provide nature-related health and well-being benefits and further research is needed.

A systematic review of barriers and motivators to physical activity in elderly adults in Iran and worldwide

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to identify and characterize the barriers and motivations to physical activity (PA) for elderly adults in Iran and other countries.

METHODS

We searched 6 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, and the Scientific Information Database) from 2000 to the November 2017, using "aged 60 and over," "physical activity" or "exercise," and "motivator" and "barrier" as keywords. Two reviewers independently performed the search, screening, and quality assessment of the studies.

RESULTS

In total, 34 papers were finally included in the study. The most important barriers, based on the frequency of factors, included physical problems, having no companions, and physical barriers to walking. The motivators included improving one's physical condition, being social, and suitability of the physical environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Important motivators and barriers to PA were more closely related to intrapersonal factors than to the interpersonal and environmental domains. The barriers and motivators to PA in the elderly were not markedly different between Iran and other countries. Therefore, a general strategy could be designed to improve PA in the elderly.