Efecto de un programa de ejercicio físico mediado por tecnología sobre la calidad de vida de adultos mayores en confinamiento por COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on older adults (Gutiérrez et ál., 2020) affecting healthy behaviors such as physical activity, since one of the strategies to reduce contagion has been social isolation (Celis-Morales et ál., 2020) and likewise, it has been possible to show worldwide that social isolation has had a negative impact on the levels of physical activity in the population (Fitbit Staff, 2020) (Pinazo-Hernandis, 2020) and the quality of life (Cunningham et ál., 2020). On the other hand, the benefits of physical activity / exercise have been widely demonstrated for the prevention of NCDs and improvement of the quality of life in older adults (Martín Aranda, 2018) and with the confinement situation, technology provides the opportunity to learn to use new resources to intervene in different populations adults (Gutiérrez et ál., 2020) becoming a possibility for improving health and maintaining levels of physical activity of this population during the confinement situation (Gutiérrez et ál., 2020) (Celis-Morales et ál., 2020). Although it finds evidence from world organizations (ACSM, WHO, APTA, IPTOP, WCPT, INPTRA) on recommendations for the maintenance of physical health during confinement for older adults, which indicate different types of activities or exercises that use electronic devices to access online videos and online platforms for telephones (Sepúlveda-Loyola et ál., 2020), however, when exercising at home sometimes the indications turn out to be very general and not being according to the specific population (Márquez Arabia, 2020) and that is why health should design physical exercise programs for this population mediated by technology (Sepúlveda-Loyola et ál., 2020). Likewise, there are online resources on activity and physical exercise for older adults (Said et ál., 2020). However, there is little evidence on the implementation of intervention programs at home during confinement due to COVID-19 (Vitale, y otros, 2020) and specifically mediated by virtuality (Gutiérrez et ál., 2020) (Cohen-Mansfield et ál., 2021). Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a virtual physical exercise program of the Santo Tomás University, Bucaramanga on the quality of life in adults. As a result, it is expected to generate a positive impact on the quality of life and also the promotion of healthy habits such as the practice of physical exercise through virtual or remote intervention in older adults in confinement that adapts to the expectations of this population.