Evaluation of Age & Dementia Friendly Gymnastics Programme
ISSN: 1366-3666
Article publication date: 13 July 2017
Issue publication date: 17 August 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of an bilaterally asymmetric gymnastics-based exercise programme on older people participating in a care home and day centre setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design comprised a small-scale pilot in two care homes and one day care centre in Cambridgeshire, England. The research was a qualitative evaluation that included observing sessions delivered; interviews with older people participating, their spouses, family members and friends; interviews with staff; and a review of the diary of each session written by the person delivering the exercise programme.
Findings
Older people participating in the programme showed a demonstrable improvement with aspects of their physical, emotional and cognitive ability. Older people with mild to advanced forms of dementia appeared to benefit most. The sessions were enjoyable and a real bond developed between the older people.
Research limitations/implications
Future research will benefit from understanding whether the observed improvements are reflected in objective measures. The inclusion of a comparison group will be important to further add to the belief that the observed changes are caused by the programme. The inclusion of a large sample size covering different geographic areas will be needed to test more widely the viability of this programme.
Originality/value
This research is the first to investigate the impact of an asymmetric gymnastics-based exercise programme on older people, with varying levels of dementia, in a care home and day centre setting.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The researcher would like to thank the British Gymnastics Foundation who managed and delivered the programme and funded the evaluation, the two care homes and day centre for piloting the exercise programme and their staff for sharing their views of the programme, the older people, their spouses, family and friends for willing to share their experiences, and the person delivering the exercise programme for detailing each session in a dairy. Further thanks to all those who commented on the earlier drafts of this paper.
Citation
Karania, V.K. (2017), "Evaluation of Age & Dementia Friendly Gymnastics Programme", Working with Older People, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 140-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/WWOP-03-2017-0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited