Family Orchards and Health-Related Quality of Life in the Elderly. A Protocol for a Study in Las Hurdes (Spain) Based on an Ethnographic Approach

Abstract

Demographic evolution is resulting on an aged population increment in Spain. This growth has been more relevant in rural areas, where the population has traditionally lived under hard socio-economic conditions and leveraging the natural resources such as food from family orchards to survive. Studies that have investigated the possibilities and uses of these traditional family orchards today in relation to health-related quality of life in the elderly are scarce. Based on a previous ethnography, this mixed research aims to describe a protocol that will evaluate the effects of the use of traditional family orchards as a daily resource on fitness and quality of life of the elderly population in Las Hurdes (Spain). Body composition, fitness, mental health, health-related quality of life, and activity-related behaviors of participants will be assessed. The outcomes of this study might enable us to design further tailored physical exercise-based interventions using family orchards as an adequate resource to improve the health-related quality of life and fitness of the elderly in rural areas. In addition, the study detailed here might also be applied to other similar rural areas in Spain and worldwide.

Collaborative agroforestry to mitigate wildfires in Extremadura, Spain: land manager motivations and perceptions of outcomes, benefits, and policy needs

“…The afforestation policy of the Franco regime (1940–1975) resulted in massive pine plantations which are positively correlated with forest fire occurrence (Iriarte-Goñi and Ayuda 2018 ). Since the 1950s, industrialisation and socio-economic crises have fueled outmigration, leaving a population of rising average age (Madruga et al 2021 ). This rural depopulation also caused land abandonment, abandonment of livestock grazing and resulting in forest encroachment, and in consequence flammable biomass accumulation and a more fires (Iriarte-Goñi and Ayuda 2018 ).…”

Neighborhood health effects on the physical health of the elderly: Evidence from the CHRLS 2018

“…The most significant component of family resources is family income, and some studies have shown that elderly people with low family income have poorer health ( Hinata et al, 2021 ). Family orchards are one family resource that affects family economic income, and orchard work contributes to improved physical health as well as mental health ( Madruga et al, 2021 ). At present, adult children are primarily responsible for home care of the elderly in China, but urban development has resulted in many adult children migrating away from their families.…”