Pettersson Beatrice, Lundell Sara, Lundin-Olsson Lillemor, Sandlund Marlene
Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Umeå University, 90187, Umeå, Sweden.
Department of Sociology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Eur Rev Aging Phys Act. 2023 Jul 18;20(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s11556-023-00322-7.
Accidental falls are one of the greatest threats to older adults' health and well-being. The risk of falling can be significantly reduced with strength and balance interventions. However, there needs to be further knowledge into how older adults can be supported to achieve a maintained exercise behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore factors that enabled older adults to maintain their exercise during a 1-year self-managed digital fall prevention exercise intervention.
This study used a grounded theory methodology. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted by phone or conference call. Eighteen community-dwelling older adults aged 70 years or more participated. The participants had a self-reported exercise dose of 60 min or more per week during the last three months of participation in a 12-months intervention of self-managed digital fall prevention exercise, the Safe Step randomized controlled trial. Open, axial, and selective coding, along with constant comparative analysis, was used to analyze the data.
The analysis resulted in a theoretical model. We found that the fall prevention exercise habits of adults were developed through three stages: Acting against threats to one's own identity, Coordinating strategies to establish a routine, and Forming habits through cues and evaluation. The main category of Maintaining balance in life encases the participants transition through the three stages and reflects balance in both physical aspects and in between activities in daily life. The process of maintaining balance in life and desire to do so were mediated both by intrinsic person-dependent factors and the Safe Step application acting as an external mediator.
This study identified three stages of how older adults developed self-managed fall prevention exercise habits, supported by a digital application. The generated theoretical model can inform future interventions aiming to support long-term engagement in digitally supported and self-managed fall prevention interventions.
意外跌倒对老年人的健康和幸福构成了最大威胁之一。通过力量和平衡干预措施，跌倒风险可显著降低。然而，对于如何支持老年人实现持续的运动行为，仍需进一步了解。因此，本研究旨在探讨在为期一年的自我管理数字防跌倒运动干预中，促使老年人坚持运动的因素。
本研究采用扎根理论方法。通过电话或电话会议进行半结构化个体访谈。18名年龄在70岁及以上的社区老年人参与了研究。在参与为期12个月的自我管理数字防跌倒运动“安全步”随机对照试验的最后三个月中，参与者自我报告的运动时长为每周60分钟或更长。采用开放式、轴心式和选择性编码以及持续比较分析来分析数据。
分析得出了一个理论模型。我们发现，成年人的防跌倒运动习惯通过三个阶段形成：应对对自身身份的威胁、协调策略以建立日常习惯，以及通过线索和评估形成习惯。“保持生活平衡”这一主要类别涵盖了参与者在三个阶段的转变，反映了身体方面以及日常生活活动之间的平衡。保持生活平衡的过程以及这样做的愿望，既受到内在的个人相关因素的调节，也受到作为外部调节因素的“安全步”应用程序的调节。
本研究确定了老年人在数字应用程序支持下形成自我管理防跌倒运动习惯的三个阶段。所生成的理论模型可为未来旨在支持长期参与数字支持的自我管理防跌倒干预措施的干预行动提供参考。
