Nudging older adults toward positive habits can be effective in promoting increased activity and engaging those who are socially isolated, especially men, according to the results of a new study conducted in a continuing care retirement community.
Nudge-based interventions have been used for a wide variety of behaviors, including chronic disease management and social distance promotion, by targeting routines. Researchers from Kyoto University in Japan tested the technique’s effectiveness in alleviating social isolation in senior living residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was part of an ongoing research project in a Kyoto CCRC that began in 2018 with the goal of promoting the health of older adults through a senior-friendly internet of things.
In this study, the investigators placed tablets in the CCRC to provide health information to 90 residents. They then used loss-emphasized nudge — where behavioral changes are encouraged by emphasizing losses rather than benefits — followed by a commitment nudge — asking residents to vocalize their plans to reinforce intentions to change behaviors.
The researchers’ findings, published in the March issue JAMDA, the journal of AMDA–The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, indicate a potential low-cost intervention to engage older adults who are socially isolated.
The investigators said that they intentionally targeted the “very old population” —people aged 80 or more years — to determine whether nudge-based interventions resulted in behavioral changes to promote activity levels.
“Promoting older adults’ activities is the key to designing health services for them,” the authors concluded. “This study revealed that nudge-based interventions can be effective in promoting activities for older adults, especially older men.”
The authors noted that the initial effect of nudges disappeared quickly, but residents experienced a subtle but consistent increase in their activity for at least eight weeks. And although nudges were found to be more effective in men, the researchers noted that women were more likely to engage in social and physical activity at an older age.
The investigators suggested that future studies could use a wearable device to assess the effect of nudge-based interventions directly on physical activity in older adults.
