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Older Adults' Perceptions of the Usefulness of Technologies for Engaging in Physical Activity: Using Focus Groups to Explore Physical Literacy.

ABSTRACT: Insufficient physical activity (PA) levels observed among older adults remain extremely high and pose a danger to developing and maintaining their physical literacy (PL). Each person's level of PL partly depends on their physical and cognitive skills, confidence level, and degree of motivation to practice PA daily. New technologies, such as exergames and wearable fitness trackers, may enable older adults to increase their PL, stimulating uptake and ongoing PA participation. Objective: This focus group study aims to describe older adults' perceptions of the use of technologies to engage in physical exercise programs. Methods: Fifteen participants were randomly selected from a sample of 40 older adults who completed a randomized controlled trial that investigated the benefits of using technology in the context of group-based exercise programs. Separate post-intervention focus groups were performed with an exergaming group, a conventional physical training group, and a no training group (control). Data were mapped onto constructs from the four domains of PL: affective, physical, cognitive, and behavioral. Results: Generally, participants expressed positive perceptions about the benefits of using technology to engage in PA. These positive feelings outweighed the costs and the lack of familiarization with technology. Common themes for the three groups emerged from the discussions and included familiarization with technology, using fitness tracker to monitor PA, previous exposure to technology, and interaction with peers, staff members, and relatives. In particular, participants from the exergaming group explored the ideas of training their cognitive skills while using the exergame accessories, exercising in an alternative way, competitive versus cooperative play, changes in sense of humor, skill transferability from game to real environment, progressions of the exercise intensities, and the potential use of exergames for rehabilitation. Conclusions: Participants in this study reported positive perceptions about implementing technology into exercise. Emphasizing the benefits of using technology in group-based exercise programs may increase older adults' PL levels and their future technology adoption. The potential implementation of technology into conventional exercise programs should focus on older adults' lifelong values, biopsychosocial conditions, and the possibility of reducing age-related risk of injuries and chronic diseases.

SUBMITTER: Campelo AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7068313 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Older Adults' Perceptions of the Usefulness of Technologies for Engaging in Physical Activity: Using Focus Groups to Explore Physical Literacy.

Campelo Alexandre Monte AM Katz Larry L

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200211 4

Insufficient physical activity (PA) levels observed among older adults remain extremely high and pose a danger to developing and maintaining their physical literacy (PL). Each person's level of PL partly depends on their physical and cognitive skills, confidence level, and degree of motivation to practice PA daily. New technologies, such as exergames and wearable fitness trackers, may enable older adults to increase their PL, stimulating uptake and ongoing PA participation. <i>Objective</i>: Thi ...[more]

PMID: 32053937

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Project description:Background Coping with dementia can imply particular challenges for people with a migration background due to diversity in their life course, personal characteristics, and living environment. Some of the services available for people with dementia include digital technologies for care, providing health services, and maintaining or increasing participation, independence, and safety. This study aimed to explore the role of digital technology in coping with dementia in the lives of older adults with a migration background, and the possibilities to engage and collaborate with older adults. Methods This study combined a qualitative interview-based approach with citizen science principles in the design and execution of a project studying the use of Anne4Care. Results and discussion Participants valued that technology should provide health benefits and fit into aspects of their daily lives. Anne4Care was considered helpful in staying independent and connecting to loved ones in their country of birth. The participants needed to learn new competencies to work with the device, and not all had the material prerequisites, such as an internet connection. Still, this learning process was considered purposeful in their life, and the virtual assistant could be integrated into care and daily practices. The involvement of the older adults with dementia as co-researchers made them feel valuable and as equal partners during this research. An important prerequisite for the involvement of older adults with a migration background was existing relations with carers and care organizations. Conclusion Digital care technologies to cope with dementia can become a valuable part of care practices in the lives of older adults with a migration background. Involving older adults in the development of technology, acknowledging their expertise and needs, and working together in short iterations to adapt the technology for their specific needs and situations were experienced as valuable by the researchers, older adults, and care professionals.

Project description:This paper reports on the findings from a series of virtual focus groups that explored consumer perceptions of animal-free dairy (AFD), an emerging type of animal product alternative produced using the tools of synthetic biology and precision fermentation. Focus group participants came from an international sample of potential "early adopters." To stimulate conversation, participants were presented with a series of visual "moodboards" that framed key arguments both in favor of and in opposition to AFD. Three primary thematic clusters emerged from the discussion. The first focused on issues of "process, safety, and regulation," centered on the general reaction of participants to the concept of AFD, their primary concerns, key questions, and the assurances they would need in order to support its advancement. The second focused on issues of "consumer preferences and priorities," highlighted by the often complicated, and sometimes outright contradictory, stated consumer interests of the participants. The third focused on issues of "food technology and the future," wherein participants expressed broader views on the role of food technology in society, generally speaking, and the potential futures of AFD, specifically. The general consensus among participants was a cautious openness to the idea of AFD. Outright opposition to the concept was rare, but so too was unabashed enthusiasm. Instead, respondents had a number of questions about the nature of the technological process, its overall safety and regulatory standards, its potential contributions to individual health and climate change mitigation, as well as its organoleptic qualities and price to consumers. Among the positive frames, claims about animal welfare were deemed the most pertinent and convincing. Among the negative frames, concerns about messing with nature and creating potential health risks to individuals were seen as the strongest arguments against AFD. The findings suggest that the key to AFD's future as a viable market option will depend in large part on the extent to which it can clearly demonstrate that it is preferable to conventional dairy or its plant-based competitors, particularly in the arena of taste, but also across considerations of health and safety, nutrition, environmental effects, and animal well-being.

Project description:BackgroundDespite the growing importance of eHealth it is not consistently embedded in the curricula of functional exercise and physical therapy education. Insight in barriers and facilitators for embedding eHealth in education is required for the development of tailored strategies to implement eHealth in curricula. This study aims to identify barriers/facilitators perceived by teachers and students of functional exercise/physical therapy for uptake of eHealth in education.MethodsA qualitative study including six focus groups (two with teachers/four with students) was conducted to identify barriers/facilitators. Focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed in full. Reported barriers and facilitators were identified, grouped and classified using a generally accepted framework for implementation including the following categories: innovation, individual teacher/student, social context, organizational context and political and economic factors.ResultsTeachers (n = 11) and students (n = 24) of functional exercise/physical therapy faculties of two universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands participated in the focus groups. A total of 109 barriers/facilitators were identified during the focus groups. Most related to the Innovation category (n = 26), followed by the individual teacher (n = 22) and the organization (n = 20). Teachers and students identified similar barriers/facilitators for uptake of eHealth in curricula: e.g. unclear concept of eHealth, lack of quality and evidence for eHealth, (lack of) capabilities of students/teachers on how to use eHealth, negative/positive attitude of students/teachers towards eHealth.ConclusionThe successful uptake of eHealth in the curriculum of functional exercise/physical therapists needs a systematic multi-facetted approach considering the barriers and facilitators for uptake identified from the perspective of teachers and students. A relatively large amount of the identified barriers and facilitators were overlapping between teachers and students. Starting points for developing effective implementation strategies can potentially be found in those overlapping barriers and facilitators.RegistrationThe study protocol was a non-medical research and no registration was required. Participants gave written informed consent.

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Older Adults' Perceptions of the Usefulness of Technologies for Engaging in Physical Activity: Using Focus Groups to Explore Physical Literacy.

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Older Adults' Perceptions of the Usefulness of Technologies for Engaging in Physical Activity: Using Focus Groups to Explore Physical Literacy.

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