Date of Award

12-31-2018

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Exercise and Health Science

First Advisor

Tongjian You

Second Advisor

Suzanne G. Leveille

Third Advisor

Lap-Fai Yu

Abstract

Falls are a well-known cause of injury, mortality, and a large growing public health problem among older adults. Exergaming is a new and popular form of exercise that combines cognitive training and physical training, which has the potential to improve cognitive function and dual-task function among older adults. The purpose of the study was 1) to evaluate and test safety, enjoyment, and physiological responses to custom Microsoft Kinect-based motion-tracking exergames and 2) to test whether an 8-week exergaming intervention would improve cognitive function and dual-task function compared to a traditional physical exercise program.

The initial phase, the evaluation phase of the study, included community-dwelling older adults who reported mobility difficulties or had fallen in the past year. Participants played three newly developed exergames (Target Tracker, Double Decision, and Visual Sweeps) assigned in random order. Seven participants (median age 75 (range: 66-85)y) completed the study and the exergames did not cause any injuries. Median heart rate and ratings of perceived exertions (RPE) were statistically significantly higher than rest for all three exergames (p

The second phase, the intervention phase of the study, was a quasi-experimental study. The study included older adults who lived in senior living communities who reported mobility difficulties or had fallen in the past year. Participants were enrolled in either the exergaming or the traditional physical exercise, offered twice weekly for 8 weeks based on their residential community site. Twenty-nine participants (aged 77±7y) completed either the exergaming (n=15) or the traditional physical exercise (n=14). Statistically significant group differences in Trail Making Test Part A (TMT-A, p

Comments

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