Promotion of physical activities for the elderly in times of COVID-19 in primary health care: an experience report

Abstract

The present article is an experience report about a work developed with a jogging group, made up of residents of the Jardim São Paulo neighborhood, Recife-PE, during the social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the work was to describe the experience of promoting physical activity and health among the elderly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The activities were carried out remotely, either by video call, sharing videos from the city academy program, or by individual assistance, production and dissemination of a booklet and debates about health and physical activity. The interventions started soon after the social distancing measures were taken by the state, between April and July 2020. The weekly frequency was 3 weekly activities, one of which was focused on health education, while the others were focused on physical activity orientation. The target audience were participants of a jogging group developed during the residency, who also participate in a WhatsApp group called "healthy weight", developed by the Health professionals of the Basic Health Unit in Jardim São Paulo. The group has a total of 21 people and is composed mostly of women (20), with ages distributed between 60 and 81. As a result, the intervention proved to be a facilitator in the process of digital inclusion of the elderly population, as well as an enabler for the target audience to have access to guided physical activity during the period of social isolation, and thus contribute to improving the health condition of the group, since the improvement in physical activity levels contributed to the control of hypertension and diabetes, in addition to psychological factors such as socialization and decreased stress levels.

Keywords: Social isolation, COVID-19, Physical activity, Health promotion