Telerehabilitation in Individuals Over 65 Years of Age Having Social Isolation Due to Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Overview

In December 2019, new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) erupted in Wuhan (Hubei, China) and quickly spread from a single city to the entire country in just 30 days and then attracted worldwide attention. COVID-19 causes a large number of deaths due to its occurrence in many cases. This virus caused a total of 549,461 approved cases and 24,887 deaths worldwide. All the countries of the world take some precautions to prevent the spread of this epidemic disease, which WHO declared it as "pandemic". Staying home and social isolation are at the top of these precautions. For this purpose, in Turkey on March 21, 2020, '65 and older individuals began to apply the curfew to individuals with chronic illnesses. However, not leaving the house and social isolation brings with it the limitation of physical activity. Physical activity (PA) is defined by WHO as any bodily movement produced by the contraction of skeletal muscles that increases energy consumption. Recommended PA levels for the elderly (≥65 years) are similar to adults (18 to 64 years old). At the global level, approximately 45% of people over the age of 60 do not meet the recommended level of PA. Studies investigating the relationship between social isolation and health behavior report consistent findings. Individuals with smaller social networks report less healthy diets, excessive alcohol consumption, and less physical activity. The effects of social isolation are related to physical inactivity, smoking and the possibility of having both health risk behaviors together. The decrease in physical performance is associated with the risk of falling, sarcopenia, fragility, decreased quality of life, emotionalization, comorbidity, early death, and increased health care costs. Practical and innovative interventions are needed to reduce the decline in muscle mass, strength and physical performance in the aging population. When today's conditions are evaluated, technology-supported education programs are effective in increasing the motivation for physical activity. The purpose of this study; to evaluate the physical activity level of individuals over the age of 65 who experience social isolation due to the precautions taken in our country to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to investigate the effectiveness of home-based telerehabilitation exercises. It is aimed to use an innovative model based on the digitally supported, home-based exercise program.