Summary
Confinement and social isolation as preventive measures against COVID-19 increased the sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity and emotional discomfort of older people and generated the risk of frailty, disability and loss of functional independence. To counteract these undesired effects, after massive COVID-19 vaccinations that made it possible to return to face-to-face activities, we designed the project "Towards healthy ageing: The promotion of physical exercise and healthy habits of older people as a strategy for post-COVID-19 recovery", and it was implemented in three retirement centers in Piñeyro, Avellaneda. It consisted of a multicomponent physical exercise plan and promotion of healthy habits based on the Guidance Integrated care for older people (ICOPE) for person-centred assessment and pathways in primary care (PAHO, 2020). The objectives were: to preserve and/or reverse the declines in the functional ability and mental health of older people, to promote reunion with peers as an incentive to return to the practice of physical exercise and to overcome fear and anxiety felt from the pandemic period. The activities began with a first assessment of the older people intrinsic capacities to identify their psychophysical condition. This information was used to design a physical training plan based on the Vivifrail Project (Izquierdo et al., 2017). The plan had two stages of three months, with two weekly sessions of one hour, and the evolution of the participants was followed up and monitored. Monthly workshops on healthy habits were developed.
Planning and Implementation
-
What was the challenge you were trying to address?
The project proposed to facilitate access to systematic physical activity and healthy habits for the elderly in Piñeyro, to counteract the consequences of the post-COVID 19 pandemic. Piñeyro is the town where the UNDAV is located, and it lacks activity offers specifically for seniors. Other challenges were: training students with knowledge of gerontology to work with older people, and reaching an agreement with local organizations to implement the project.
-
Who were you trying to impact?
Older people in general, Older people with chronic health conditions or disability, Older people with vulnerabilities, Both older and younger people
-
What sectors were you targeting?
Education, Health, Information and Communication
-
Who else was involved?
Government, Civil Society Organization, Older People's Association, Academia
-
How did older people participate?
Older people were part of the process at multiple or all stages
Lessons learned
-
Please describe how collaboration worked in your initiative.
The "Unión de Centros de Jubilados de Avellaneda" (UCA) is a Civil Society Organization that brings together more than 95 Centers for Retirees and Pensioners. Its purpose is to identify the needs and demands of the elderly in the municipality and to manage the offer of activities before the different organizations: recreational, tourist, artistic, sports and health care. It ensures the quality of care conditions and benefits offered to the elderly. Its importance lies in the fact that it knows the different realities of the different localities, which made it possible to select the centers and articulate communication between the centers and with government agencies. The three centers for retirees: Amado Nervo, Idea Feliz and Los Amigos are Older People's Association from which the project was implemented, they proved to function as meeting places, where older people find a place of belonging to interact with their peers and manage to be with others and be recognized and valued by them, as well as doing physical exercise to continue preserving their functional ability and continue feeling competent to do the activities that are important to them and valued. In addition, two government organizations responsible for the health and integral well-being of the elderly participated: the Undersecretary for the Elderly of the Municipality of Avellaneda and the UGL X of PAMI, which is the most important health social work for retirees and pensioners of the country.
-
What was the impact of your initiative on older people, their families, and/or their communities?
The project achieved its objectives because older peopie returned to the retirement centers, which recovered their place as the organizing institution. Throughout the project, the number of participants increased. In addition, older people achieved continuity in class attendance, which demonstrated their progressive adherence to the project. Regarding their functional ability, the physical exercise classes allowed people to improve the parameters obtained in the SPPB Test that was administered at the beginning of the plan and reduced the risk of falls. Likewise, the workshops allowed older people to improve their healthy habits and assist their doctors to review their treatments for chronic diseases postponed during the pandemic. On the other hand, the classes made it possible to improve the mood and mental health of older people based on the friendship bonds they established with their peers.
-
What issues did you face, and how did you address them?
One of the difficulties was the fear of older people to return to face-to-face activities after the pandemic and confinement, due to the latent risk of contagion despite having the full vaccination schedule. It was necessary to carry out a lot of propaganda and information about the activity through posters in local businesses and messages through social networks. When the activity began, the snowball method was very effective, since an older person brought another. Another of the difficulties was achieving the continuity and adherence of the older people to the project and the training plan. For this, it was necessary to generate activities in which people established friendship ties and kept in touch beyond the classes through social networks and WhatsApp groups. It was also necessary to train the students who were in charge of the classes, because they lacked knowledge and experience to work with older people. For this, prior training was carried out on the two programs that were implemented: ICOPE and Vivifrail. In addition, the performance of the students was monitored during the implementation of the project, to adjust their professional skills.
-
What lessons did you learn from implementing this initiative?
The main motivational factor for which older people attend physical exercise is to interact with peers and meet others, establish friendship ties and mitigate the feeling of loneliness. The implementation of the ICOPE Guide allowed us to know other domains of the intrinsic capacity of older people in addition to mobility and favoured a comprehensive and people-centered approach. The Vivifrail Project could be applied in a community social context (not sanitary) and in a group (not personalized) even with people with heterogeneous functionality. And interacting with older people allowed the young students in charge of the classes to change the way they looked at older people, and overcome their ageist view of ageing.
-
Do you have any other reflections you would like to share?
If the preservation of functional capacity is conceived as one of the essential conditions for healthy aging, it is imperative that national and local public policies be designed and managed to promote the stimulation and exercise of intrinsic physical and mental capacities, which contribute to avoid the fragility, disability and dependency that can be triggered by a sedentary lifestyle, physical and social inactivity and the loneliness of the elderly. Hopefully the Decade and its four areas of action will be consolidated as the international strategy for it to be so.