Physical functioning: The mediating effect on ADLs and vitality in elderly living in residential care facilities. “Act on ageing”: A pilot study

The present study aims at verifying whether participation in a physical activity programme has positive effects on the daily life autonomy and vitality of elderly people living in residential care facilities by the mediation of their physical well- being. Fifty-one institutionalised individuals took part in the study. The control group included 11 people (84.26, ± 7.4 years), whereas the experimental group was made up of 40 people (85 ± 6.6 years). The experimental group was involved in a physical activity programme twice a week. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire, the Activities of Daily Living Scale, and the Tinetti Test were administered to the participants. The linear regression method as well as Sobel’s formula were used for the analysis. The results show that participation in a physical activity programme has positive effects on autonomy in bathing and on the participants’ sense of vitality due to the mediation of physical functioning. These results confirm the importance of physical activity for the elderly populations living in residential care facilities.

Physical and psychological condition of senior people in a residential care facility. The effects of an aerobic training

The present study is aimed at investigating the changes between pre-test and post-test, after having introduced an aerobic programme of physical activity (one session, each of 45’ per week for 15 weeks, over a span of roughly four months, delivered by specially trained instructor), in the psychological situation (perception of general health, feelings of geriatric depression) and physical condition (activities of daily living, physical performance in terms of balance and gait, weight, and body mass index–BMI) of a group of senior citizens slightly compromised at Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE: median 23) and living in a residential care facility in northern Italy. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Italian short version of Barthel's Index of Activities of Daily Living (BADL), the Tinetti Assessment Tool were administered to 18 old men and women (median age 85.50 years). The findings (we used non- parametric statistical techniques) showed that: 1) general health perception, feelings of depression, and activities of daily were stable;2) general physical performance, and particularly the balance, increased between pre-test and post-test, while weight, BMI and waist circumference decreased. These results underline the importance, especially in the case of women, of participating at an aerobic training delivered by experienced instructors for the physical condition of senior citizens, also when they are slightly cognitively compromised.

Real and Perceived Physical Functioning in Italian Elderly Population: Associations with BADL and IADL

This study aimed to identify the key physical abilities (aerobic endurance, gait speed, balance, strength) and psychological variables associated with the level of basic (BADL) and instrumental (IADL) activities of daily living in an autonomous community-dwelling elderly population in Italy. 135 elderly people (63% women;mean age = 73.3, SD = 5.5) were included in the study. Stepwise regression was performed to verify the association between these variables and the level of BADL and IADL in the elderly participants. Results showed that balance (β = -0.21, p of physical functioning (β = 0.32, p L scores, and IADL score was associated with perception of physical functioning (β = 0.30, p 001) and upper limb strength (β = 0.21, p < 0.05). The results demonstrate a relationship between physical functioning and ADL, both real physical functioning and perceived physical functioning.