Rural-frail

Global aging is an achievement, but also an economic and public health challenge. The challenge is to maintain the health and functionality of the elderly since frailty, directly linked to disease and dependence, is very present in this population group. Physical exercise has been proposed as one of the best non-pharmacological tools to prevent the loss of health and functionality, both physical and mental, increasing emotional well-being. The existing scientific literature has focused on the elderly in urban centers, demonstrating the high prevalence of frailty in the elderly, that they do not comply with the recommendations for physical activity, and that there are also limitations (time, resources, feeling of rejection) for its practice. However, there are no studies focused on the elderly in rural areas, an environment with its own particular characteristics.

The objectives of this project are the following: To evaluate the effect of an intervention with multicomponent physical exercise, cognitive tasks and motivational strategies carried out in a face-to-face and video-assistance manner on mental health, physical function and frailty in elderly people aged 65 years in rural areas; and to determine the effectiveness, safety and adherence to new technologies to carry out an intervention with multicomponent physical exercise, cognitive work and motivational strategies through video-assistance in elderly women and men in rural areas.

This is a randomized controlled trial in which 240 people over 65 years of age, men and women, will be randomly divided into 2 groups, intervention and control, of 120 participants each. The intervention group will perform a multicomponent physical exercise program three days a week (60 minutes per session) for 12 weeks. In addition, two days of cognitive work and motivational strategies will be incorporated to increase intrinsic motivation, autonomy and competence through workshops. Afterwards, the follow-up phase begins and the intervention will be carried out in a video-assisted manner for the remaining 9 months, distributed in three blocks of: two months of rest and one month of video-assisted intervention, each one. The control group will continue with the activities of daily living and will be provided with physical activity recommendations and talks on mental and physical health. The effects of the interventions will be evaluated before and after the interventions with a wide battery of tests, including functional capacity as a primary variable through the Short Physical Performance Battery and secondary variables such as health-related physical condition, cognitive function and quality of life, among others. The expected results will be of great technical-scientific relevance in the psycho-social-health field, because they will help us to know the effectiveness and adherence of a multidisciplinary program of face-to-face intervention and its continuation in a video-assistance way in the rural environment.

The ultimate goal of this project is to provide advanced technical and technological solutions that make access to physical exercise viable and sustainable in rural areas. Therefore, this project is of great relevance not only to improve health in this population, but also to increase individual and social sustainability, and provide the health system with the best preventive tools for the care of the elderly.