Influence of a Program Combining Amusement and Exercise on Subjective Well-Being: Six-Month Intervention Study with a Complex-Type Program for Community-Dwelling Elderly Subjects

Abstract

Background: Health promotion for the elderly mainly targets improvements in physical function, and a lack of strengthening of subjective well-being as well as the creation of interaction-providing opportunities for activity and participation has been reported. Evaluations of positive and negative aspects for subjective well-being are needed. Elderly subjects were intervened through a 6-month complex-type program combining amusement and exercise and its influences on subjective well-being and physical and physiological functions were investigated. Methods: Subjects in this survey were 37 healthy elderly females living in M city, Hiroshima Prefecture (age: 69.7 ± 5.9 years old), and the survey was performed between September 2016 and March 2017. The complex-type program comprised amusement and exercise programs. The survey was performed at 4 time points during the intervention period: before the intervention and 1, 3, and 6 months during the intervention. Subjective well-being (Japanese version of the Subjective Well-being Inventory (SUBI): Mental health scores, Mental fatigue scores