Good practices

VIVIFRAIL - PROMOTE PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN FRAIL ELDERLY

Vivifrail was an initiative focused on the promotion of knowledge acquisition and implementation of good practices. It is part of the Strategy for the Promotion of Health and Quality of Life in the European Union It also includes a training for professionals, in order to give them the necessary materials to raise their awareness regarding the fact that physical exercise prescription is a way to improve health in elderly people.

Its main objective is to promote Physical Exercise for the prevention of fraily and falls in older people, by developing effective resources to be implemented in community and hospital interventions. Vivifrail had some specific objectives, as following:

Detection of successful good practices and work with elderly people;
Development of tele-based training actions (e.g. apps; TV-Channel);
Implementation of a piloting action to test the good practices;
Development of innovative awareness material for older people, including leaflets, brochures and guides;
Implementation of a training action for professionals focused on home assistance.

With this in mind, this initiative expected that elderly people can have the opportunity to maintain a level of functionality that maintains as many autonomy as possible. How? Providing useful resources to professionals that daily work with this target group.

The results from a study about Vivifrail impact show that 70% of participants who started with physical frailty symptoms reversed this condition after 4 weeks of exercise training, which make it possible to conclude that Vivifrail improved functional capacity and reverse physical frailty (Buendía-Romero, García-Conesa, Pallarés & Courel-Ibáñez, 2020).

Year(s): 2015 - 2016

Target group(s): Home care assistants and professionals; Monitors managing exercise programs of Local Authorities, Retirement Clubs and Associations; Health staff from Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Care Centers ; Medical and non-medical staff of retirement homes

Website or other online channels: http://vivifrail.com/

Methodology

Create a protocol for health, sport, education and social care services

Professionals; develop and provide materials about the beneficial effects of physical exercise for older people; Develop a Program of basic multicomponent exercises on traditional and online formats for patients at home; development of clear exercise protocols to be delivered with the beneficiary, in his/her environment (e.g. bed, bedroom, ground); implementation of a training action for health and social care services ‘staff to assist the elderly boosting physical exercise practices; promotion of positive changes in elderly people’s lifestyle, raising their awareness about the importance of physical exercise.

Type of product

Online resource Video clips / Films Course / Training

Brief description of the outcomes

Vivifrail developed resources for professionals and for elderly people. It was developed a training with resources that professionals working with elderly people can implement in their interventions, raising their knowledge and professionals skills. It was developed a Passport of physical exercise with all the steps that need to be taken under Vivifrail program, and that it is available in the project website, promoting its transferability and sustainability.

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

Professionals will benefit from the resources that were developed during the project lifetime, which are still available on the project website (for more detailed information, please see the section “Visuals”).

In this way, professionals can download a package with information and tools to implement a multicomponent program of physical exercise for elderly people.

The type of physical exercise is also divided according to the functional level and risk of falls of participants.

It is possible, then, to conclude that professionals can empower their performance in terms of promoting good health styles (through physical exercises) of elderly people. Thus, elderly people will also benefit from these resources, since they will have a more active life, which also promotes a better emotional/psychological well-being.

Promoter of the initiative: Universidad Publica de Navarra

Country: Spain

Languages available: English Italian Portuguese Romanian Spanish German