Community strategy to develop healthy lifestyles in older adults

Abstract

Introduction: In Cuba, people over 60 years old constitute 21,3 % of the population. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a strategy for promotion of healthy lifestyles in older adults. Material and Methods: A pre-experimental study was performed through community intervention in the Popular Council No. 2 Siboney, Barbosa Community, Playa Municipality during the period between April 2015 and December 2016. The universe consisted of all adults over 60 years old from the aforementioned Popular Council. The study population was composed of 66 older adults who were chosen for the diagnostic phase and the strategy implementation phase, where a valuation of the change was carried out and it was reduced to 58 older adults due to deaths or changes of residence of eight of them. After the implementation of the strategy, the change was analyzed in the following variables: self-care, mobility, medication intake, sleep, emotional state, social relationships, physical exercise, and quality of life. Results: Progression to improvement is evidenced in all cases. A further analysis shows a change in the positivity of lifestyles after the implementation of the strategy. Conclusions: A predominance of positive categories was observed; negative categories diminished and the good ones increased significantly. The factors related to lifestyle included: self-care, medication intake, sleep, interpersonal relationships, and physical exercise. The implementation of a community promotion strategy was effective for the improvement of lifestyles.

Keywords

• persona mayor, comportamientos saludables, estilo de vida, estrategia de promoción.