Date Presented 04/04/2025
A study of an online and in-person group program of yoga, mindfulness, and social practices showed improved hope and well-being among community-dwelling older adults. Results support the use of healthy aging programs in in-person and online formats.
Primary Author and Speaker: Rachel Hirsch
Additional Authors and Speakers: Jessica Kwok, Amiya Waldman-Levi, Alexandra Laghezza, Jeanine Stancanelli
Contributing Authors: Maggi Ridolfo, Brittney Ryan, Brigitte Rivera, Camilla Romo, Melody Rodriguez, Beatriz Cancel
BACKGROUND: Older adults are at heightened risk for social isolation, which is associated with higher risk of depression and decline in health that can result in increased mortality (Stokes et al., 2021). Yoga, mindfulness, and social activities are effective in enhancing older adults’ physical and mental health outcomes (Reangsing et al., 2021; Sampath et al., 2022). There is a gap comparing virtual and in-person delivery methods while incorporating a combination of yoga, mindfulness, and social practices to enhance hope and well-being. This study compared the impact of an eight-week Healthy Aging and Wellness (HAW) group-based program delivered online and in-person to improve hope and well-being in community-dwelling older adults.
DESIGN: A mixed-methods, pre- and post, two group study with convenience sampling method.
METHOD: The HAW standardized protocol with fidelity was delivered by trained graduate occupational therapy students. Outcome measures included the Integrative Hope Scale, Personal Wellbeing Index, and an open-ended post program interview.
RESULTS: 114 participants were screened for eligibility and 22 were found eligible (online group n=8; in-person n=14). The majority were female, Caucasian, and lived alone at home, aged 65 to 86. No statistical differences were found between groups in sense of hope and wellbeing at posttest or within groups, however in both groups, participants’ sense of well-being and sense of hope increased in the online group only. Participants reported benefits to their mental functions and carryover to daily life.
CONCLUSION: This sample had high pretest hope scores compared to other samples, which may have impacted the results; together with sample size limitations, we recommend providing this program to a large, more diverse sample.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Occupational therapists can implement healthy aging programs in-person and online to community-dwelling older adults to decrease social isolation and improve mental wellbeing.
References
Reangsing, C., Rittiwong, T., & Schneider, J. K. (2021). Effects of mindfulness meditation interventions on depression in older adults: A meta-analysis. Aging & mental health, 25(7), 1181–1190. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2020.1793901
Sampath, A., Malhotra, V., Javed, D., Bharshankar, R., Mishra, S., Singh, V., Singh, D., Kulkarni, A., Gautam, N., & Rastogi, R. (2022). Yoga as an escape from depreciating mental health due to COVID 19: A qualitative study analyzing the factors associated with mental status based on the experiences of geriatric population’s participation in an online program during COVID 19 Lockdown in India. International Journal of Yoga, 15(3), 230. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ij
Stokes, A. C., Xie, W., Lundberg, D. J., Glei, D. A., & Weinstein, M. A. (2021). Loneliness, social isolation, and all-cause mortality in the United States. SSM. Mental health, 1, 100014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2021.100014
