Integrated Health Education Programmes With Physical Activity Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults at Risk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: An Integrative Review of Experimental Studies.

Aims: To examine the effects of integrated health education programmes with physical activity among community-dwelling older adults at risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Design: Integrative review.

Data sources: A systematic search of experimental studies was conducted in six electronic databases and one registry from inception to December 2022.

Methods: Two researchers independently conducted the eligibility screening, quality appraisal and data extraction. A total of 11 studies, which were published between 1996 and 2021, were included in the review and were analysed by narrative synthesis.

Results: The 11 included studies involved 1973 participants. The findings indicate that integrated health education programmes with physical activity have potential benefit in short-term weight management among community-dwelling older adults at risk of ASCVD. Nevertheless, the programmes appear ineffective on body mass index, short-term lipid profiles, diastolic blood pressure (BP) and blood glucose. Further investigation is recommended to confirm the programme effects on physical activity level, exercise self-efficacy, systolic BP, waist circumference, long-term lipid profiles, long-term weight management and cardiac endurance. The findings suggest that body mass index may not be a sensitive indicator of obesity in the elderly population and should be measured along with waist circumference to better predict the risk of ASCVD. The available evidence is restricted in its robustness and generalisability. As most included studies were conducted in the United States, more studies should be implemented in other countries to enhance study generalisability.

Conclusions: The effects of integrated health education programmes with physical activity among community-dwelling older adults at risk of ASCVD remain inconclusive. Further research with adequate statistical power and good methodology is warranted.

Impact: The findings provide insights into whether health education programmes with physical activity effectively improve various outcomes, and suggest that researchers should include exercise self-efficacy and cardiac endurance in future studies.

Reporting method: Adhered to PRISMA reporting guidelines.

No patient or public contribution: This review was conducted without patient or public participation.