Seniors centre-based health intervention programmes in the United States and South Korea: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Despite the great need for health interventions among seniors centre participants, this matter has received little attention.

Aim and design: This systematic review aimed to identify what types of health interventions are effective and feasible for seniors centre participants.

Data sources: MEDLINE, Ovid, CINAHL, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and RISS were searched.

Review methods: We searched for health intervention studies conducted in seniors centres published in English and Korean between 1990 and 2014. Of 907 screened articles, 22 studies of all types of experimental designs were selected.

Results: Selected studies were grouped by intervention domain: health promotion (n = 8), safety (n = 5), chronic disease management (n = 6), and comprehensive wellness (n = 3). Overall, 59.1% of the interventions were provided by nurses. The health interventions resulted in positive effects on seniors centre participants' knowledge, health behaviours, clinical indices, and hospitalization rates. Few studies reported on feasibility outcomes such as satisfaction and cost-effectiveness.

Conclusions: Considering the impact and ease of access to older people at seniors centres, health interventions and services within seniors centres should be strengthened. There is potential for nursing to spearhead seniors centre health intervention programmes to enhance active ageing for participants.

Keywords: aged; education; health promotion; health services; nursing; review; seniors centres.