Impact of Light Volleyball Intervention Programme on Improving Physical Attributes of Older Adults in Hong Kong: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Physical inactivity, which increased older adults’ likelihood of getting chronic diseases, is prevalent in Hong Kong older adults which the HKSAR government has been proactively promoting active ageing to mitigate the issue. OBJECTIVE In accordance with the WHO's strategy to avert chronic diseases in older adults and to align with the global goal of active ageing, the study examined the impact of a 16-week light volleyball (LVB) intervention programme on the physical health amongst older adults in Hong Kong. METHODS A randomized controlled trial was used to study the impact of 16-week LVB intervention on the physical health of participants. A total of 276 participants aged 60 years old or above were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups: LVB intervention, active control (Taichi), and control group. The intervention program took place from early 2020 to mid 2022, with data collected at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up tests. Both LVB and TC group participants attended a 16-week training class with two 90-minute sessions per week following the pretest. Physical attributes of older adults, including lower body strength, upper body strength, lower body flexibility, upper body flexibility, agility and balance, and aerobic endurance were measured using 7 distinct tests. RESULTS Participants from LVB intervention demonstrated significant improvement in lower body strength h[F(2,272) = 7.23, p = .001, η2 = .05], agility [F(2,272) = 6.05, p = .003, η2 = .043] and dynamic balance [F(2,272) = 9.41, p = .001, η2 = .065] when compared to TC active control group and control group. CONCLUSIONS To promote active ageing amongst older adults in Hong Kong, the results of this preliminary study together with the upcoming follow-up tests will provide insight for health specialists and practitioners to choosing LVB community programme given its positive health effect in older adults. CLINICALTRIAL ChiCTR, ChiCTR1900026657. Registered 17 October 2019, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojEN.html?proj=44350