Physical-recreational activities and social integration in the elderly

Abstract

Introduction: Social integration is a dynamic process that improves the subject’s inclusion at exclusion risk, requiring specialized strategies, such as physical activity programs.

Objective: to assess the physical activity effects on the social integration of the retired older adult from Espoch.

Methods: 34 former retired public servants from the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (Espoch), with a self-perceived moderate level of depression/anxiety, were studied, subjecting them to an intervention process with physical-recreational activities that included 7 units with 90-min sessions. The older adults were evaluated with the Self-Applied Scale of Social Adaptation-SASS at two moments of the intervention process.

Results: The pretest determined an average of 2.24 points (≈2: patent social maladjustment), increasing the score as part of the posttest to 2.76 (≈3: Normality), with significant differences in posttest favor (p=0.000).

Conclusions: an increase in social adaptation is demonstrated based on a balance level of integration with the known environment (university), achieved with the implementation of the intervention proposal. In this sense, specialized physical-recreational programs can be effective complements to promote the integration of a specific social group, as is the case of older adults retired from a higher education center.