The effect of exercise on quality of life, fatigue, and pain management in older women: A cross-sectional study in Greece

Paraskevi Theofilou; Konstantina Papaemmanouil

doi:10.59400/apr.v3i1.417

The effect of exercise on quality of life, fatigue, and pain management in older women: A cross-sectional study in Greece

Paraskevi Theofilou School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, Patra 26335, Greece
Konstantina Papaemmanouil School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, Patra 26335, Greece

Article ID: 417

1714 Views, 892 PDF Downloads

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/apr.v3i1.417

Keywords: exercise; quality of life; fatigue; pain management; women; elderly

Abstract

Background: Frequently, the contribution of exercise to the elderly and the associated benefits of such activities are discussed. Aim: This paper deals with the contribution of exercise to the levels of quality of life, fatigue, and pain management. Method: Then, quantitative and cross-sectional research is carried out to investigate the contribution of physical exercise to the levels of quality of life, fatigue, and pain management in women over 60 years of age. For the data collection, the questionnaire used consisted of the Missoula—VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI), the Pain Assessment Questionnaire (PSeQ), and the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). Results: From the statistical analysis made between exercise and quality of life, fatigue, and pain management of the women over 60 who participated in the research, it follows that women undergoing exercise show a better quality of life and less fatigue, while no statistically significant difference was detected in terms of pain management. Conclusion: It seems that exercise positively affects quality of life and fatigue. Potential implications must be addressed in order to organize more exercise programs, particularly for older people.

References

[1]Andruszkiewicz, A., & Basińska, M. (2016). Mental states in early and late old age patients and their expectations of their physicians. Psychiatria Polska, 50(5), 1001–1014. https://doi.org/10.12740/pp/61408

[2]Avlund, K. (2010). Fatigue in older adults: an early indicator of the aging process? Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 22(2), 100–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03324782

[3]Awick, E. A., Wójcicki, T. R., Olson, E. A., et al. (2014). Differential exercise effects on quality of life and health-related quality of life in older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Quality of Life Research, 24(2), 455–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0762-0

[4]Byock, I. R., & Merriman, M. P. (1998). Measuring quality of life for patients with terminal illness: the Missoula–VITAS® quality of life index. Palliative Medicine, 12(4), 231–244. https://doi.org/10.1191/026921698670234618

[5]Cella D. F. (1994). Quality of life: concepts and definition. J Pain Symptom Manage, 9(3), 186–192.

[6]Cohen, M., Kahn, D., & Steeves, R. (2000). Hermeneutic Phenomenological Research: A Practical Guide for Nurse Researchers. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452232768

[7]Fox, K. R., Stathi, A., McKenna, J., et al. (2007). Physical activity and mental well-being in older people participating in the Better Ageing Project. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 100(5), 591–602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-007-0392-0

[8]Friesen, J. (2023). Towards a Link between Quantitative and Qualitative Sciences to Understand Social Systems Using the Example of Informal Settlements. Entropy, 25(2), 262. https://doi.org/10.3390/e25020262

[9]Gurková E., Čáp J., & Žiaková K. (2010). Job satisfaction of Slovak nurses. In: Contemporary Issues of Nursing Education and Practice. University of Stavanger. pp.232–244.

[10]Hosseini F., Mullins S., Gibson W., & Thake M. (2022). Acute pain management for older adults. Clinical medicine (London, England), 22(4), 302–306. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.22.4.ac

[11]Kallivoka M., Alikari V., Spetsioti S., et al. (2019). Fatigue and Quality of Life after Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program. Pneumon Number 3, 32, 72–80.

[12]Khalid K., Abdullah H. H., & Kumar M. D. (2012). Get along with quantitative research process. International Journal of Research in Management, 2(2), 15–29.

[13]Kuykendall, L., Tay, L., & Ng, V. (2015). Leisure engagement and subjective well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 141(2), 364–403. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038508

[14]Landi, F., Onder, G., Carpenter, I., et al. (2007). Physical activity prevented functional decline among frail community-living elderly subjects in an international observational study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 60(5), 518–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2006.09.010

[15]Menting, J., Tack, C. J., Bleijenberg, G., et al. (2018). Is fatigue a disease-specific or generic symptom in chronic medical conditions? Health Psychology, 37(6), 530–543. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000598

[16]Michielsen H. J., De Vries J., & Van Heck G. L. (2003). Psychometric qualities of a brief self-rated fatigue measure: The Fatigue Assessment Scale. J Psychosom Res., 54, 345–352.

[17]Patel, K. V., Guralnik, J. M., Dansie, E. J., et al. (2013). Prevalence and impact of pain among older adults in the United States: Findings from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study. Pain, 154(12), 2649–2657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2013.07.029

[18]Rodriguez-Laso, A., Zunzunegui, M. V., & Otero, A. (2007). The effect of social relationships on survival in elderly residents of a Southern European community: a cohort study. BMC Geriatrics, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-7-19

[19]Schipper H., Clinch J. J., & Olweny C. L. M. (1996). Quality of life studies. Definition and conceptual issues. In: Quality of life and pharma economics in clinical trials. Lippincott-Raven, Philadelphia; pp. 11–24.

[20]Spirduso, W. W., & Cronin, D. L. (2001). Exercise dose-response effects on quality of life and independent living in older adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33(Supplement), S598–S608. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200106001-00028

[21]Spitzer W. O., Dobson A. J., Hall J., et al. (1981). Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients: a concise QL-index for use by physicians. J Chronic Dis., 34(12), 585–597.

[22]Tharenou, P., Donohue, R., & Cooper, B. (2007). Management Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511810527

[23]Theofilou, P., Aroni, A., Ralli, M., et al. (2013). Measuring health: related quality of life in hemodialysis patients. Psychometric properties of the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI-15) in Greece. Health Psychology Research, 1(2), 17. https://doi.org/10.4081/hpr.2013.1004

[24]Theofilou, P., Aroni, A., Tsironi, M., et al. (2013). Measuring pain self-efficacy and health related quality of life among hemodialysis patients in Greece: a cross-sectional study. Health Psychology Research, 1(3), 30. https://doi.org/10.4081/hpr.2013.1522

[25]Theofilou, P. (2013). Evaluation of Quality of Life in Greek Patients with Heart Failure: The Role of Health Cognitions before and after Participation in an Exercised- Based Rehabilitation Program. Journal of Clinical Trials, 03(02). https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-0870.1000135

[26]Theofilou, P. (2023). Heart Failure Patients: How Effective Can a Rehabilitation Program be in Relation to Physical and Mental Fatigue, General Health and Anxiety? Trends Journal of Sciences Research, 1(1), 41–45. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjcd.2023.599

[27]Theofilou P., Kapsalis F., & Panagiotaki H. (2012). Greek version of MVQOLI-15: Translation and cultural adaptation. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 5(3), 289–294.

[28]Theofilou P., Zyga S. (2014). Psychometric properties of the Missoula—VITAS quality of life index in Greek patients undergoing chronic periodical haemodialysis. Hellenic Journal of Nursing, 53(2), 166–174.

[29]van der Maas, L. C. C., de Vet, H. C. W., Köke, A., et al. (2012). Psychometric Properties of the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 28(1), 68–75. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000092

[30]van Seben, R., Reichardt, L. A., Aarden, J. J., et al. (2019). The Course of Geriatric Syndromes in Acutely Hospitalized Older Adults: The Hospital-ADL Study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 20(2), 152-158.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2018.08.003

[31]Zyga, S., Alikari, V., Sachlas, A., et al. (2015). Assessment of Fatigue in End Stage Renal Disease Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: Prevalence and Associated Factors. Medical Archives, 69(6), 376. https://doi.org/10.5455/medarh.2015.69.376-380

Published

2024-01-29

How to Cite

Theofilou, P., & Papaemmanouil, K. (2024). The effect of exercise on quality of life, fatigue, and pain management in older women: A cross-sectional study in Greece. Applied Psychology Research, 3(1), 417. https://doi.org/10.59400/apr.v3i1.417

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Giuseppe Lanza

Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Italy

eISSN

3029-276X

Publication Frequency

Semi-annual

About the Publisher

Academic Publishing insists on taking academic exchange and publication as the main line, carrying out comprehensive management based on science and technology, and fully exploring excellent international publishing resources. Within 5 years, it will form a strategic framework and scale with science (S), technology (T), medicine (M), education (E), and humanities and arts (H) as the main publishing fields. Academic Publishing is headquartered in Singapore and based in Malaysia, with the United States and China providing the main scientific and academic resources. At the same time, it has established long-term good cooperative relations with other publishing companies, scientific research communities, and academic organizations in more than a dozen countries and regions. Academic Publishing uses English and Chinese as its main publishing languages, mainly publishing books, journals, and conference papers in print and online. The vast majority of publications follow the international open access policy, providing stable and long-term quality and professional publications. With the joint efforts of the expert team and our professional editorial team, our publications will gradually be indexed by international databases in stages to provide convenient and professional retrieval for various scholars. At the same time, manuscripts we accept will be subject to the peer review principle, and cutting-edge and innovative research articles will be preferentially accepted for peer reference and discussion. All kinds of our publications are welcome for peer to contribute, access, and download.

more

Volume Arrangement

2024

2023

2022

Featured Articles

A comprehensive review (1963–2024) of environmental psychology: Trends, themes, and future directions

Multidisciplinary environmental psychology studies the dynamic link between humans and their natural and manmade settings. This thorough study synthesises 443 works from 1963 to 2024 on topics such as physical surroundings’ effects on behaviour, environmental stressors, pro-environmental behaviour, and applying psychological theories to environmental interactions. This literature is synthesised to identify patterns, themes, and future directions. Growing environmental concerns and the need for sustainable development have changed the profession. Green areas have been demonstrated to boost mental health and reduce stress. Nature helps mental exhaustion recuperation. Hospitals and workplaces’ design and structure affect health and productivity. Walkable, green urban development improves citizens’ well-being and promotes sustainable living. Environmental stresses including noise, pollution, and overpopulation harm mental and physical health. Children exposed to noise pollution are more likely to develop cardiovascular illness and cognitive deficits. Anxiety and despair caused by climate change are also becoming more apparent. Pro-environmental behaviour is emphasised, with notions like planned behaviour and community-based social marketing working. Behaviour interventions using social norms and feedback have decreased energy and waste. Personal values-driven intrinsic motivation promotes long-term behavioural change better than extrinsic incentive. Environmental psychology uses surveys, experiments, and mixed-methods research. Virtual and augmented reality provide for environmental simulations and psychological studies. Good health and well-being, excellent education, sustainable cities, responsible consumerism, climate action, and living on land are among the field’s major contributions to the UNSDGs. Environmental psychology will help establish sustainable and healthy settings that correspond with the UNSDGs as environmental issues grow.

The impact of the menstrual cycle on emotions and behavior—A review of current research

The menstrual cycle has attracted the interest of many researchers for many years. It is analyzed from many angles, including its impact on mental health. Hormonal changes over the course of the cycle have a very strong impact on the emotions, needs, or pain experienced. Estrogen, secreted shortly before ovulation, influences increased confidence and feelings of attractiveness, which can lead to new relationships. In contrast, progesterone, secreted during the luteal phase, promotes the strengthening of stable relationships, and a large proportion of women may experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS) during this time. This publication discusses studies from recent years that have assessed the variability of women’s needs and emerging symptoms during different phases of the cycle. It also summarizes any strategies and practical tips needed to work with women considering their cyclical variability.

Testing social impact and self-attention predictions with live audiences and co-actors

This experiment examined the influences of number of co-actors and audience size on manual dexterity task performance and subjective reactions such as perceived effort and arousal. Predictions derived from social impact theory and the self-attention perspective’s other-total ratio indicated that both number of co-actors and audience size should influence responses. Undergraduate students (N = 128) responded as 1, 2, 4, or 8 group members who were observed in counterbalanced fashion by 1, 2, 4, or 8 audience members for four performance trials. The predictions of increased task performance with larger audience sizes and decreased performance as number of co-actors increased were not supported. Participants’ rated arousal was somewhat consistent with the predictions from the self-attention perspective and social impact theory. Self-reported effort was consistent with the predicted patterns, but not always significantly so. The influence of number of others is moderated by the objective-subjective nature of responses of real co-actors performing in front of live audiences.

Manifesting the academic psychological contract

The level of research undertaken on the academic psychological contract, and its influence on academics’ behaviour is limited. This paper seeks to consider the academic psychological contract, by reviewing its manifestation within the role and the influence on their undertaking of the role. Particularly important is academics’ interpretation of the role and what they consider important. Within this, the paper considers in-role and extra-role activities and what may be the grey areas in which time is spent. The research adopts the combined usage of phenomenology with interpretivist processes to investigate the insights of eighteen academics at nine UK University Business Schools. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data to consider the constructs’ manifestation. Key aspects of behaviour were identified as discretionary effort autonomy and managerialism, with links to academic citizenship.