康复学报 (Oct 2023)
Effect of Regular Exercise on Anxiety and Loneliness of Rural Empty Nest Elderly
Abstract
ObjectiveBased on the "active health" applet, this paper discusses the influence of regular exercise on the anxiety state and loneliness of rural empty nest elderly.MethodsFrom March 2022 to August 2022, 128 rural empty nesters in J rural area of Fujian Province participated in the investigation through the "active health" APP. A total of 76 eligible patients were selected and randomly divided into control group and experimental group according to the random number table method, with 38 cases in each group. After intervention, 35 cases remained in the control group (1 case due to data loss, 2 cases lost contact), and 34 cases remained in the experimental group (1 case due to data loss, 2 cases withdrawed, 1 case did not meet the requirements of regular exercise). The control group received routine daily activities and health education. The experimental group used the telephone to send a weekly exercise reminder, for three times a week, each time for more than 30 minutes, medium and low intensity aerobic exercise on the basis of the control group, and the total intervention duration was 12 weeks. Physical exercise rating scale (PARS-3), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and ucla loneliness scale (UCLA) were measured before intervention (pre-test), after 6 weeks of intervention (mid-test) and after 12 weeks of intervention (post-test).ResultsThe detection rate of anxiety and loneliness of empty nest elderly in rural J of Fujian Province was 33.59% and 68.75%, respectively. There was no significant difference in PARS score, SAS score and UCLA score between the two groups before intervention (P>0.05). After 6 weeks of intervention, the PARS score was compared between the pre-test and the mid-test. The participation rate of regular exercise in the experimental group was 97.37%. The difference analysis showed that the level of exercise increased by 23.73 scores (P<0.001). After 12 weeks of intervention, the PARS score was compared between the pre-test and the post-test. The participation rate of regular exercise in the experimental group was 89.47%. The difference analysis showed that the exercise level increased by 26.97 scores (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the level of exercise between the mid-test and post-test of PARS score (P>0.05). The results of repeated measures analysis of variance of regular exercise to reduce SAS score of rural empty elderly showed that the main effect of the group was not significant, F=0.82, P>0.05, partial η2=0.01; the main effect of the number of measurements was not significant, F=3.96, P>0.05, partial η2=0.06; the interaction between the number of measurements and the group was significant, F=15.84, P<0.001, partial η2=0.19. The results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the main effect of regular exercise on reducing UCLA score of rural empty elderly was significant, F=5.59, P<0.05, partial η2=0.09. The main effect of the number of measurements was significant, F=8.49, P<0.01, partial η2=0.11. The interaction between the number of measurements and the group was significant, F=26.64, P<0.001, partial η2=0.28.ConclusionThe weekly exercise reminder can improve the exercise level of the rural empty-nest elderly. Regular exercise can improve the anxiety and loneliness of the rural empty-nest elderly compared with irregular exercise.
