Åsa von Berens, Rd, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University. Uppsala Science Park, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(4):541-548. doi: 10.1007/s12603-017-0981-5.
Studies show that regular exercise in combination with nutritional support can be effective in managing sarcopenia, which is age-related involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. Qualitative investigations of participants' experiences from interventions in this domain are scarce. In this study, we explored older persons' experiences from an intervention designed to prevent sarcopenia, with the aim of capturing the participants' thoughts and opinions.
A qualitative study embedded in the multicenter randomized clinical trial The Vitality and Vigor in the Elderly study, VIVE2. Focus group interviews were conducted. Manifest and latent content analyses were performed.
Community dwelling older adults (n=20) 71-86 years of age with minor limitations in mobility.
The experiences from the intervention were categorized and interpreted in one overall theme "Feeling more self-confident, cheerful and safe". The theme encompasses the categories psychological effects of participating in the intervention, physical effects of participating in the intervention, the importance of social support and the importance of a tailored set-up. The participants described their motives for participating in the intervention as being based on concerns regarding the negative health effects of continuing a sedentary lifestyle, difficulties of getting started on their own and lack of confidence in accomplishing change on their own. Participants also expressed that one main objective for participating was to lose weight.
In this study we have captured the experiences of older adults with minor mobility limitations who participated in a lifestyle intervention. The experiences are interpreted in one overall theme "Feeling more self-confident, cheerful and safe". The central understanding of the participants' experiences was that the intervention affected them in several ways, both psychologically and physically, and that supporting factors included the social support, which became a prerequisite for success. A noticeable finding was the discrepancy between the motive of the participants, to lose weight, and the aim of the study, to improve muscle function. The expectation to lose weight seems to reflect what is commonly known as to be healthy. To our knowledge, at least in Sweden, there are no campaigns or public information highlighting the risks of sarcopenia and the complex issue of if, and when weight loss is desirable for older individuals. This finding highlights the importance of providing such information to this target group. The findings in this study provide valuable knowledge for research teams, practitioners and decision makers when designing and setting objectives for health-promoting interventions for older individuals.
研究表明，规律运动结合营养支持可有效治疗与年龄相关的骨骼肌量和力量进行性下降的肌少症。该领域的参与者体验的定性研究很少。本研究旨在从预防肌少症的干预中探索老年人的体验，以了解参与者的想法和意见。
一项嵌入多中心随机临床试验活力与老年研究（VIVE2）的定性研究。进行了焦点小组访谈。进行了明显和潜在内容分析。
20 名 71-86 岁、行动能力轻度受限的社区居住老年人。
干预的经验被分类并解释为一个总体主题“感到更自信、更快乐、更安全”。该主题包含参与干预的心理影响、参与干预的身体影响、社会支持的重要性以及量身定制的重要性。参与者描述了他们参与干预的动机是基于对继续久坐不动的生活方式的负面健康影响的担忧、自己开始的困难和缺乏自信来实现自己的改变。参与者还表示，参与的主要目标之一是减肥。
在这项研究中，我们捕捉到了有轻度行动能力受限的老年人的体验，他们参与了一种生活方式干预。这些经验被解释为一个总体主题“感到更自信、更快乐、更安全”。参与者经验的核心理解是，干预以多种方式影响他们，包括心理和身体方面，支持因素包括社会支持，这成为成功的前提。一个值得注意的发现是，参与者的动机是减肥，而研究的目的是改善肌肉功能，两者之间存在差异。期望减肥反映了通常被认为是健康的概念。据我们所知，至少在瑞典，没有宣传活动或公共信息强调肌少症的风险以及对于老年人来说减肥是否可取的复杂问题。这一发现凸显了向这一目标群体提供此类信息的重要性。本研究的结果为研究团队、从业者和决策者在为老年人设计和设定促进健康的干预目标时提供了有价值的知识。
