Effects of Taiwan's COVID-19 Alert Levels on the Physical Activity Behaviors and Psychological Distress of Community-dwelling Older Adults
學年 111
學期 2
出版（發表）日期 2023-05-19
作品名稱 Effects of Taiwan's COVID-19 Alert Levels on the Physical Activity Behaviors and Psychological Distress of Community-dwelling Older Adults
作品名稱（其他語言）
著者 Lin, W. S.; Tsai, C. C.; Pan, P. J.*
單位
出版者
著錄名稱、卷期、頁數 BMC Geriatrics 23, 312
摘要 Background The Taiwanese government implemented stringent preventative health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, these measures negatively affected the physical activity behaviors and psychological distress of individuals. In this study, we investigated the effects of Taiwan’s COVID-19 alert–based restrictions on the physical activity behaviors and psychological distress of community-dwelling older adults. Methods In this longitudinal study, 500 community-dwelling older adults were randomly sampled from a health promotion center in Taiwan. Telephone interviews were conducted between May 11, 2021, and August 17, 2021, which coincided with the Level 3 alert period when group physical activities were prohibited. Telephone interviews were again conducted between June 20, 2022, and July 4, 2022, after the alert level was reduced to Level 2 but group physical activities were prohibited period. Through the telephone interviews, data regarding the participants’ physical activity behaviors (type and amount) and 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) scores were collected. Moreover, data regarding physical activity behaviors were collected from the records of our previous health promotion programs, which were conducted before the national alert period. The obtained data were analyzed. Results The alert levels influenced physical activity behaviors. Because of strict regulations, physical activity amount decreased during the Level 3 alert period and did not recover rapidly during the Level 2 alert period. Instead of engaging in group exercises (e.g., calisthenics and qigong), the older adults chose to exercise alone (e.g., strolling, brisk walking, and biking). Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 alert level has a significant influence on the amount of physical activity for participants (p < 0.05, partial η2 = 0.256), with pairwise comparisons showing that the physical activity amount decreased significantly across the three time periods (p < 0.05). The psychological distress of the participants did not appear to change during the regulation period. Although the participants' overall BSRS-5 score was slightly lower during the Level 2 alert period compared to the Level 3 alert period, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.264, Cohen's d = 0.08) based on a paired t-test. However, the levels of anxiety (p = 0.003, Cohen's d = 0.23) and inferiority (p = 0.034, Cohen's d = 0.159) were considerably higher during the Level 2 alert period than during the Level 3 alert period. Conclusions Our findings indicate that Taiwan’s COVID-19 alert levels influenced the physical activity behaviors and psychological distress of community-dwelling older adults. Time is required for older adults to regain their prior status after their physical activity behaviors and psychological distress were affected by national regulations.
關鍵字 Sars-CoV-2;Exercise;Mental health;Lifestyle;Aging;Lockdown
語言 en
ISSN 1471-2318
期刊性質 國外
收錄於 SCI
產學合作
通訊作者
審稿制度 否
國別 GBR
公開徵稿
出版型式 ,電子版
相關連結

機構典藏連結 ( http://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw:8080/dspace/handle/987654321/125246 )