The older adults’ experience of sedentary behavior : A descriptive literature review

Sammanfattning: Background: Sedentary behavior affects both physical and psychological aspects. Therelationship between sedentary behaviour and many health outcomes is complexbecause it depends on the type of sedentary behaviour and the age group studied. Thedeleterious effects of sedentary behavior appear to be greatest in inactive individuals,with older adults being the most sedentary age group. Thus, the issues associated withsedentary behavior in older adults are becoming an important public health issue. Weneed to understand the experiences of sedentary behavior in older adults.Aim: The aim of the study was to describe the older adults’ experience of sedentarybehavior.Methods: A descriptive literature review was conducted. The database of PubMed wassearched for searching articles published in English within 10 years using differentcombinations of key words. Finally, 35 articles were screened with full text, of which10 articles were used in the results section. The two-dimensional matrix was used in thedata analysis, and with the help of the Health Promotion Model, extracted repetitivedescriptions of older adults who have experienced sedentary behavior, and thenintegrated and classified important content.Results: The perceptions or experiences of sedentary behavior in older adults weresynthesized and four analytical categories were identified: (I) subjective cognitions ofsedentary behavior; (II) factors for influencing sedentary behavior; (III) outcome of thesedentary behavior; (Ⅳ) strategies for improving sedentary behavior.Conclusion: Older adults have different understandings of sedentary behavior. Someolder adults perceive the benefits of sedentary behavior, while others express negativeviews about sedentary behavior. Sedentary behavior in older adults can be influenced bymany factors, and different approaches can be taken to reduce sedentary time.Key words: sedentary behavior; older adults; experience.