critiquing a research article in a peer-reviewd journal

EFFECTS OF COUNSELING ON WALKING FOR EXERCISE IN ELDERLY PRIMARY CARE PATIENTS

April 2007

The study Effects of counseling on walking for exercise in elderly primary care patients ' deals with the issue of physical activity primarily in the form of walking exercise as a viable means of lowering the mortality rate of elderly patients with chronic illnesses . The research sought to address to two specific issues . The first was to discover the most effective means of increasing physical activity among the elderly and the second was to determine the level of

involvement that was necessary , on the part of nursing personnel , to first stimulate patients to become more physically active and then maintain this over this long term

The research utilized a sample of elderly patients with chronic illnesses and introduced them to a walking for exercise program . Three separate intervention procedures were followed . Some patients were followed up with monthly personal calls from a nurse , others were followed up with a smaller number of personal calls in conjunction with automated calls with prerecorded messages and still other patients were not given any sort of intervention at all

The report discovered that the first two intervention methods were quite effective in stimulating patients to participate in the walking for exercise program and this interest and participation was maintained over a comparatively long period of time . Patients that were not followed up at all did not have as much participation in the walking for exercise plan as the first two groups and even where there was initial interest this interest was not sustained overtime

These findings are , for the most part , consistent with the assumptions of the researchers . It was assumed that the two methods would be more effective in motivating and maintaining involvement in physical activity and the data analyzed verifies this phenomenon . However data did not reveal , as was anticipated , that there would be a disparity in the level of participation in the program between those who had more personal follow ups by the nurses

Literature Review

The authors point to several pieces of prior literature highlighting the health risks to the elderly due to lack of adequate physical activity on a daily basis . They also examine literature pertaining to the interrelationship between physical activity among the elderly and decreased mortality rates as well as improvements in ailments related to certain chronic conditions . Additionally mention is made of research into alternative methods of encouraging and maintaining elderly involving in physical activity

The literature examined on the matter of physical activity among the elderly , though it seems adequate , was not effectively dealt with by the authors . Only vague references are made to the findings of previous research but there is no discussion as to the variables that were considered for them . Two researches are referred to supporting that regular physical activity is associated with lower mortality even after 60 . However , there is no mention of the variables that Bijnen et al (1998 ) and Paffenbarger et al (1994 ) considered for their...