Cognition, physical function, and life purpose in the rural elderly population: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

IntroductionAging in the rural setting world from the perspective of cognition, physical function, and life purpose, essential constructs for a prosperous old age, still needs to be better discussed. Thus, this systematic review protocol highlights the prevalence of cognitive decline, physical functioning, and life purpose in older adults aging in rural community settings. Methods and analysis: We will include cross-sectional studies published until April 2022 found in 8 databases: Embase, MEDLINE, LILACS, PsycINFO, Scopus, SciELO, and Web of Science. For the first selection of studies, the Ryyan software will be used, and to check the methodological quality and the risk of bias, we will use COSMIN. For the primary analysis, the titles and abstracts available in the search engine will be analyzed by the following MeSH descriptors “Physical functioning,”; “Cognition,”; “Cognitive function,”; “Life purpose,”; Personal satisfaction; Subjective well-being; “Elderly”; “Older”; “Rural aging”; “Rural population”; “Communities, rural”; “Distribution, rural spatial”; “Medium communities”; “Rural settlement”; “Small community”. If necessary, the secondary analysis will adopt a complete reading of the selected articles by two blinded reviewers and confirmed by a third person. Publication bias will be assessed using cross-sectional analytical study quality. Sensitivity analyses will be performed by retrieving one article at a time and analyzing their endpoints with the proposal to identify the manuscripts that significantly influenced the combined prevalence of the endpoints.Strengths and limitations of this studyIt will present worldwide epidemiological data on aging in rural settings from the perspective of cognition, physical functioning, and life purpose.It is the first systematic review that involves the theme of life purpose worldwide in rural elderly.It is a cross-sectional study that although it cannot describe clinical outcomes, presents sociodemographic, cognition, physical functioning, and life purpose data that can help in public health decision-making for this population.