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Cited by 23Geriatric Care and Nursing HomesPhysical Activity and HealthBalance, Gait, and Falls Prevention

Effects of Exergaming on Physical and Cognitive Outcomes of Older Adults Living in Long-Term Care Homes: A Systematic Review

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Chu, Charlene H., Quan, Amanda My Linh, Souter, Allison, Krisnagopal, Archanaa, Biss, Renée K.·2022·Gerontology
DOI 10.1159/000521832PMC PMC9501726
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Abstract

Background: Aging is often associated with increasing functional decline as measured by deterioration in mobility and activities of daily living. Older adults (OAs) living in residential long-term care (LTC) homes in particular may not engage in regular physical exercise, significantly increasing their risk of further cognitive and functional decline. Exergaming may hold promise for OAs by combining exercise and technology-based gaming systems, but evidence for its use in LTC is unknown. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to summarize the effects of exergaming interventions on physical, cognitive, and quality of life (QoL) outcomes for OAs (>65 years of age) living in LTC. Results: Twenty-one studies involving 657 OAs living in LTC met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were associated with a high risk of bias and many used uncontrolled designs and small samples. Across studies, exergame interventions were associated with preliminary benefits relative to control conditions on standardized measures of physical outcomes (e.g., Timed Up & Go, 5-meter gait speed). No consistent effects were found for cognitive and QoL outcomes. Conclusions: Exergames might be a promising intervention to benefit the physical health of OAs (>65 years) living in LTC, but more research is required to determine the effects of exergaming on physical health, as well as cognitive and QoL outcomes. More specifically, larger and more methodologically robust evaluations are needed.

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  • Recent reviews from 2022 have continued to focus on the effectiveness and outcomes of digital interventions in healthy ageing.

    “In recent work from 2022, reviews on this area have continued to focus on the effectiveness and outcomes of digital interventions in healthy ageing (Balki et al., 2022;Chu et al., 2022;Liu et al., 2022;Margrett et al., 2022;Suleiman-Martos et al., 2022).”

    From User experience of mixed reality applications for healthy ageing: A systematic review (2023) · cites this paper as Chu et al., 2022

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Authors
Chu, C. H., Quan, A. M. L., Souter, A., Krisnagopal, A., & Biss, R. K.
Affiliations
  • University Health Network (CA)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Queen's University (CA)
  • University of Windsor (CA)
Corresponding author
Chu, Charlene H.
ORCID
Venue
Gerontology
Publisher
S. Karger AG
Published
2022
Volume
68
Issue
9
Pages
1044-1060
ISSN
  • 0304-324X (ISSN-L)
  • 1423-0003
DOI
10.1159/000521832
PMC
PMC9501726
OpenAlex
W4220942642
Cited by
23
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3
FWCI
0.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Gerontology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Scholarship at UWindsor (University of Windsor) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Alzheimer Society
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
Keywords
exergames, older adults, long-term care facilities, physical activity, cognitive function, quality of life, mobility (physical function), walking speed, functional decline, activities of daily living, exercise intervention
MeSH terms
Exergaming, Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Cognition, Humans, Long-Term Care, Quality of Life

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