Preliminary efficacy of a technology-based physical activity intervention for older Korean adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Physical activity (PA) interventions deployed using eHealth technologies have been shown to improve cardiovascular health (CVH) and physical function in older adults. This study tested the preliminary efficacy of a 12-week hybrid (web-based and center-based) PA intervention combining the use of a smartwatch and mobile application. Our intervention was concurrently implemented in-person at the local senior welfare center and at-home through a web-based modality. Participants (n = 120) had an average age of 72.7 year and were largely female (75%). Health status was categorized as low-risk (26.7%), middle-risk (43.3%), and high-risk (30%). Overall, increases were evident in diastolic blood pressure (t = −3.55, p < .01), and high-density-lipoprotein (t = −3.02, p < .01), with decreases seen for triglyceride levels (t = 2.42, p < .05) at posttest. Participants showed improvements in muscular function (t = −3.75, p < .001) and cardiopulmonary endurance (t = −2.34, p < .05). Moreover, while controlling for covariate, participants in the middle-risk health category showed lower diastolic blood pressure (b = −4.54, p < .05) and greater triglyceride levels (b = 37.74, p < .001) and cardiopulmonary endurance (b = 6.98, p < .05) than those within the low-risk health group. Participants with high-risk health showed greater triglyceride levels than those with low-risk group (b = 40.57, p < .001). Further studies should test a PA intervention using a randomized controlled trial design, with the expansion of the surveyed covariates and possible important mechanistic confounders.