ABSTRACT
Background Healthy aging with dignity and aging in place are important concepts for most Taiwanese individuals, which can hopefully affect health policies. However, many elders have been encouraged to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic since January 2020. Consequently, most elders limited their social participation in a previous regular activity in the community center, which undermined the strategies for healthy aging. Few studies have explored how to promote or maintain holistic health and physical fitness for community elders during the COVID-19 worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to establish and evaluate the impact of an innovative summer camp program for older adults in the rural community.Methods A quasi-experimental pre-post-test design was used. The innovative summer camp (ISC) was based on a standardized protocol of modified Baduanjin exercise combined with three recreation breathing games. Participants were recruited from three community centers around the western coastal Yunlin County between June and August 2020. ISC program was designed and demonstrated by the research team and conducted by each community care worker for 90 minutes per day, five days per week, for 12 weeks. The paired t-test was used to measure the physical biomarkers, pulmonary lung function, and health-related fitness changes.Results Sixty-eight participants completed this study. The findings indicated that the ISC program significantly improved elderly individuals’ physiological biomarkers and health-related fitness, including reduced body weight, waistline, systolic blood pressure, and increased forced vital capacity, biceps arm flexion, sit and stand from a chair, step with a knee up in situ, and stand on one foot with eyes open. Besides wearing a facemask during the activity, almost all participants reported that they felt happy, satisfied and hoped that this program can be continued in their community center.Conclusion This pilot study supported the finding that a three-month ISC program can improve physical biomarkers and health-related fitness. The results strongly suggested that community care workers can employ the proposed ISC program as routine activity for community elders.