Promoting Active Aging in rural Settings: an Intervention Program Implemented in Orense, Spain

Promoting health and quality of life among rural older people has received little attention especially in Spain where the number of interventions designed specifically for the rural elderly is sparse. The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of an intervention program aiming at improving quality of life through cognitive stimulation, physical and crafts activities in a group of community-dwelling older adults living in a depopulated rural area in Ourense, Galicia, Spain. The sample of this study comprised 86 people (78 people in the intervention group and 8 people in the control group) age 65 years and older (M age=70.82; SD=6.35). The evaluation included the MEC, the CDT and the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire. The intervention was applied for a period of nine months and consisted of three weakly workshops with a mean duration of four hours that included cognitive stimulation, crafts and physical activity. The results of the ANCOVA revealed that independently of the age, educational, level, gender and pretest scores the participants of the intervention group had a lower risk of cognitive impairment. Also they maintained their score on the Psychological health dimension of the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire while the participants in the control group slightly decreased their score. The intervention program had a positive effect on the participants’ perception with regard to their opportunities to participate in leisure activities and improved their cognitive functioning which in turn contributed to their more positive perception of their psychological health.