Understanding the Wii Exergames Use: Voices from Assisted Living Residents.

PURPOSE: The study was to understand the facilitators and barriers to exercise using exergames among assisted living residents, particularly in the area of cognitive, physical, and psychosocial effects. DESIGN: Self-efficacy theory was incorporated into the design of the Wii Fit exergaming program. METHOD: Fifteen participants (mean age: 87.07 ± 3.92) received the program twice a week for 4 weeks. Semi-structural individual interview was conducted after the program. Interview responses were analyzed using basic content analysis methods. FINDINGS: Five themes emerged that facilitated participants? desire to exercise: (1) health and mobility; (2) increased alertness; (3) elevated mindset; (4) social interaction; and (5) structured program. Barriers to engage in exercise included: (1) age- or health-related impairments to exercise; and (2) unpleasant experiences related to exercise. CONCLUSIONS: An intervention incorporating self-efficacy and Wii exergames did result in the identification of cognitive, physical, and psychosocial benefits and barriers to exercise.

Physical and psychosocial effects of Wii Fit exergames use in assisted living residents: a pilot study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical and psychosocial effects of the Wii Fit exergames incorporating self-efficacy theory on assisted living residents. The study was a quasi-experimental pre/post-test design. Thirty-two participants were recruited from two assisted living facilities. Sixteen participants received the Wii Fit exergames incorporating self-efficacy theory twice a week for 4 weeks. The other participants received a health education program. Physical function, fear of falling, depression, and quality of life were evaluated. T tests were used for data analysis. After the 4-week intervention, the Wii Fit group showed significant improvements in balance (p < .01), mobility (p < .01), and depression (p < .05). The education group showed no significant improvement in any of the outcomes. Integrating concepts of self-efficacy theory with the exergames show promise as a potential tool to improve and maintain physical and psychosocial health for older adults.

Exergames-based intervention for assisted living residents: a pilot study.

The physical and psychosocial benefits of exergames have been reported in various literature. A pre-posttest, single-group design was used to test the effects of an exergames-based intervention on cognition, depression, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in assisted living residents. Bandura's self-efficacy theory was applied. Seven residents (mean age = 86, SD = 5 years) participated in the program two times per week for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included cognition, depression, and health-related QOL. No statistically significant differences were found in any of the outcomes after the intervention. A tendency toward improved cognition occurred, but the outcomes of depression and health-related QOL did not follow a similar trend. However, improved socialization and motivation to exercise were reported. Continued research is needed to investigate the cognitive and psychosocial effects of exergames on this population. Nurses can collaborate with other health care professionals to engage residents in exercise and thus improve residents' QOL.

The feasibility of an intervention combining self-efficacy theory and Wii Fit exergames in assisted living residents: A pilot study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a self-efficacy based intervention using Wii exergames in assisted living residents. The study was a single-group pre- and post-test design. Seven older adults (aged 80-94 years) were instructed to engage in exergames twice a week for 8 weeks. Physical function (balance, mobility, and walking distance), fear of falling, self-efficacy for exercise, and outcome expectations for exercise were evaluated. All participants had enjoyable experiences and no serious adverse events were reported. Participants had significant improvement on balance. Although not significant, there were trends indicating that participants improved mobility, walking endurance, and decreased fear of falling. The use of Wii exergames was an acceptable, safe, and potentially effective approach to promote physical activity in older adults. Findings provide support for the applications of integrating self-efficacy theory into exergames as a mechanism to encourage older adults to engage in exercise.

Resolving to go forward: the experience of Latino/Hispanic family caregivers.

Little is known about the experiences and needs of family caregivers of Latino/Hispanic individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) during the early years of recovery. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the experiences and identify the informational, decisional, interpersonal, and resource support needs of family caregivers of newly injured Latino/Hispanic individuals with SCI during the first 2 years after undergoing rehabilitation. "Resolving to go forward" was the core category that emerged from two simultaneous processes of "learning to care for" and "getting through" during the initial years as the primary informal caregiver. Most caregivers felt alone and abandoned after the injured person returned home, and experienced barriers to services and resources primarily because of language issues and economic status. We recommend that researchers develop and evaluate culturally appropriate, informal caregiving models to improve outcomes for both Latino individuals with SCI and their family caregivers.

Quality of life in spinal cord injured individuals and their caregivers during the initial 6 months following rehabilitation.

Addressing quality of life (QOL) issues in the spinal cord injured (SCI) population is imperative as the majority survive their initial injury and longevity now approaches that of the general population. The purpose of this mixed method, descriptive, longitudinal feasibility study was to describe and compare QOL in 10 adult SCI individuals and their family caregivers (FCs) during the initial 6 months following rehabilitation. Instruments used were the SF-36 and two horizontal visual analog scales, one for pain and one for QOL. Participants completed the instruments and a face-to-face in-depth interview at 1-, 3-, and 6-months following inpatient rehabilitation. SCI individuals reported low physical function, role physical (RP), and role emotional (RE) scores on the SF-36, while reporting high general health (GH), mental health and social functioning on the SF-36. FCs reported lower RP, GH and vitality scores, while reporting higher physical functioning and RE scores. On the visual analog scales, persons with SCI reported lower QOL while FCs reported more pain at 3 and 6 months. This study suggests that more work is needed to identify interventions which could enhance QOL during the transition from rehabilitation to home for SCI individuals and their FCs.