اثربخشی یک برنامه شش هفته ای تمرینات عملکردی مبتنی بر منزل بر ترس از سقوط و فعالیت های ابزاری زندگی روزمره در زنان سالمند فرتوت

Introduction

Frailty is an important predictor of serious adverse outcomes such as disability, increased use of healthcare, and ultimately premature death.The criteria for frailty include unintentional weight loss, fatigue, decreased physical activity, slow walking speed, and reduced grip strength.Frailty leads to an increased risk of aging-related outcomes such as disability, comorbidities, admission to long-term care facilities, falls, fractures, hospitalization, loss of independence, poly-pharmacy, and mortality.Falling is one of the most common and problematic issues among the elderly, which has become a significant health concern, accompanied by fear and limitations in daily activities.Fear of falling can have adverse outcomes such as reduced workload in daily life, reduced physical activity, and lower quality of life .Instrumental activities of daily living refer to the ability to perform tasks such as shopping, taking medications, preparing meals, using the telephone, doing household chores, washing clothes, traveling, using transportation, managing finances, and handling financial matters.Engaging in daily activities allows older adults to maintain their independence and have better social participation. Furthermore, performing daily activities is recognized as an effective factor in preserving the health and well-being of older adults. Therefore, efforts and planning to maintain and enhance the daily activities of the elderly are highly valuable .Given the aforementioned points, the prevention and treatment of age-related frailty is an undeniable necessity in aging due to its high prevalence and importance in clinical fields. An important point is that frailty is reversible in its early stages; if a frail individual is identified and treated early, they can be transformed into a non-frail individual.In general, based on the provided statistics, it can be said that the prevalence of frailty among Iranian elderly is increasing, and effective steps must be taken to implement practical interventions for prevention and improvement of this condition. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of 6 weeks of home-based functional aging exercises on fear of falling and instrumental activities of daily living of frail older women in Tabriz.

Methods

The research method employed was a semi-experimental design, conducted in 2025, among elderly women in Tabriz. 24 elderly sample available voluntary women participated in the research according to the goal-based method and were randomly divided into two groups of 12 people, test and control. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the limitation of the subjects, 24 eligible individuals with an age over of 60 years were selected as the sample of the study and randomly divided into two experimental groups (n=12) and Controls (n=12) were included. The test group received and performed their exercise program during 6 weeks in 3 sessions per week at own home and each session lasted for 60 minutes. The progress of the exercises varied according to the overload principle and the circumstances of the people. Before the intervention and one week after the last intervention session, the two groups of participants completed demographic questionnaires, Tilburg vulnerability index, Falls Efficacy Scale-International questionnaire and Lawton index. Analysis of covariance was used to compare the differences between the groups. Statistical analysis of data was performed using SPSS version 26 software at a significant level (P<0.05).

Results

The result of ANCOVA analysis in the study showed that the exercise intervention produced a significant improvement in IADL post-test scores. This finding indicates that the exercise program significantly improved functional independence in performing daily activities in frail elderly women. In the area of fear of falling, there was also somewhat significant decrease in post-test scores.

Conclusion

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of six weeks home-based functional aging exercises on the fear of falling and instrumental activities of daily living of frail older Women. The findings of this research support the dominant effect of the functional exercise protocol implemented in this research on the mentioned variables; therefore, it is recommended frail elderly women to use these exercises at home.

Footnotes

Funding: This study did not receive any financial support from any organization.

Authors’ contribution:  Study concept and design: M. N., M.E.; Analysis and interpretation of data: M .N., M. E. and A.V.; Drafting of the manuscript: M.N.; Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: M. N. M. E.; Statistical analysis: A. V.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank all the participants in this study for their contributions.