Feasibility, Practicability, and System Usability of Home-Based Online Interactive Aerobic Dance Exercise Program among Older Adults: A Pilot Study (Preprint)
Authors: Hyodo Kazuki , Kidokoro Tetsuhiro , Yamaguchi Daisuke , Iida Michitaka , Watanabe Yuya , Ueno Aiko , Noda Takayuki , Nishida Sumiyo , Kawahara Kenji , Kai Yuko , Arao Takashi 
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 has decreased the opportunities for older adults to be socially interactive and physically active, which could cause detrimental effects on their physical and mental functions. As a measure for this situation, a home-based online exercise program provided through video-conferencing could improve the inactive lifestyles of older adults. We developed a short duration of an acute light-intensity aerobic dance exercise program online for older adults. Prior to studying the effectiveness of this exercise program and online system, their characteristics, such as feasibility, practicability, and usability, should be examined in older adults.

OBJECTIVE

This pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility, practicality, usability, and effectiveness of a home-based online aerobic dance exercise program provided through a video-conferencing platform for older adults.

METHODS

This study was designed as a prospective single-arm pilot study. Sixteen older adults participated　in an eight-week home-based online exercise class held every morning (8:30 ~ 8:50 a.m.) from Monday to Friday. Retention and adherence rates of the exercise class to measure feasibility, enjoyment, and safety (adverse events, exercise intensity) of the exercise program to assess practicability, ease of the video-conference platform system for usability, and one’s change in mental health (Japanese short version of the Profile of Mood States Second Edition [POMS-2] and Geriatric Depression Scale-Short form Japanese [GDS-S-J]) for effectiveness were examined in older adults.

RESULTS

Results: One of 16 participants dropped out of the class, resulting in a retention rate of 94 %. Of the remaining 15 participants, the median (interquartile range) overall adherence rate was 97.4% (94.7-100). The enjoyment score of the program significantly increased from the first to the sixth and eighth weeks of the class. Regarding safety, none of the participants reported any adverse events related to the program during the whole intervention. The mean (SD) heart rate (HR) and HR reserve (HRR) during the exercise session were 93.4 (5.7) beats per minute (bpm) and 29.8% (6.8), respectively. As for the usability of the system, some participants reported certain difficulties in using the platform during the first week of the class; however, all the participants got used to it subsequently and reported no difficulty. Regarding changes in mental health, the score of vigor in POMS showed a significant positive increase from pre- to post-intervention (P < .001). No significant changes in the scores of other POMS-2 subscales and GDS-S-J were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study showed high feasibility and practicability of the online aerobic dance exercise program, alongside high usability of the online delivery system in older adults. Moreover, the intervention may increase positive mood. These results suggest that our exercise program and its delivery system may contribute to older adults’ increase in physical activity in daily life during COVID-19.