Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies
Study ID Country Related publications |
Study design, duration of the intervention | Population and setting Number of participants (n) Age (years) Female/male |
Description of the intervention Intervention group (IG) Control group (CG) |
Outcome measures (primary outcome, secondary outcome) | Key findings | Effect size for physical activity (PA) [95% confidence interval] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ballesteros 2014 [42] Spain, Sweden, Greece |
RCT, 12 months |
Communities in Spain, Sweden, and Greece n = 41 Age range 65–85 GI: mean age 74, GC mean age 75 Female/male: IG 16/9 CG 11/5 |
ICT-mediated social network: AGNES IG: AGNES CG: chat and coffee with the research team |
Wellbeing (SPF-IL scale) |
IG improved affective dimension (p < 0.05) at post-test. IG improved affective dimension 8.92 (SD 1.93) and 10.20 (SD 1.44), at pre- and post-test, respectively |
No data on PA |
Cook 2015 [24] USA |
RCT, 3 months |
Workers aged 50 years and older n = 278 Age range 50 to 68 Female/male: IG 40/98, CG 50/89 |
Web-based multimedia program (information and guidance) IG: web-based multimedia program CG: waitlist |
Diet change, mild exercise, self-efficacy Eating practices, exercise planning, beliefs about aging |
IG performed better on diet change (p 0.048), planning healthy eating (p 0.03), and mild exercise (p 0.01). IG vs CG showed effects on eating practices (p 0.03), exercise self-efficacy (p 0.03), exercise planning (p 0.03), and aging beliefs (p 0.01) |
Not possible to calculate effect size |
Homma 2016 [52] Japan |
Pilot RCT, 3 months |
Two districts of Kurihara city n = 68 Mean age: IG 65.1, GC 67.2 Female/male: IG 22/13, CG 22/11 |
IG: videophone group (interactive interviews) CG: document group (printed communication) Telemonitoring of health conducted in both groups |
Physical activity, behavioral change self-assessment (PA and Diet) Clinical parameters (body weight, BMI, blood pressure, albumin) Perceived health condition and improved lifestyle |
Both CG and IG improved average step per day: CG 5046 vs. 5992 (p < 0.01), IG 5829 vs. 7324 (p < 0.01); between group (p = 0.16). IG improved behavioral change for PA (p 0.004), diet (p 0.002), and lifestyles (p < 0.01). IG improved significantly in most clinical parameters such as blood pressure, HbA1c, albumin, BMI. IG perceived higher improvement in health condition and lifestyle (72.7% vs. 97.1% (p < 0.01). |
0.21 [− 0.28–0.70] |
Irvine 2013 [43] USA |
RCT, 12 weeks |
Sedentary men and women 55 years and over, community n = 368 Mean age 60.3 (SD 4.9) Female/male: IG 127/51, CG 129/61 |
Web-based intervention to promote physical activity IG: web-based intervention CG: no access to website |
Physical activity Body mass index Quality of life SF-12 health survey |
IG improved on 13 of 14 outcome measures. IG maintained large gains on all 14 outcomes measures after 6 months. |
0.28 [0.05–0.51] |
Kim 2013 [44] USA |
RCT, 6 weeks |
African-American community n = 46 Mean age: GI 69.3 (SD 7.3), GC 70.5 (SD 7.5) Female/male: IG 21/5, CG 8/2 |
Text messaging to motivate walking IG: pedometer, walking instructional manual and text messaging CG: without text messaging |
Physical activity Step count Perceived activity levels Leisure, time, exercise, questionnaire (LTEQ) |
IG improved steps vs. CG (679 vs. 398; p < 0.05), as well as LTEQ score (p < 0.05). Both groups increased their LTEQ score at 6 weeks (p < 0.001). |
0.12 [− 0.63–0.88] |
Kurti 2013 [45] USA |
Quasi experimental (controlled trial), 2 months |
Community members over 50 years in Florida n = 12 Mean age 65.5 Female/male: IG 5/1, CG 5/1 |
Internet-based intervention (successive 5-day blocks) to increase physical activity in sedentary adults IG: monetary consequences CG: no monetary consequences |
Physical activity |
IG and CG reached the 10,000-step goal. IG vs. CG increased steps (182% vs. 108%) and met steps goals (87% vs. 52%). |
Not possible to calculate effect size |
Lara 2016 [33] UK |
RCT, 8 weeks |
Workplaces in Northeast England n = 75 Mean age 61 (SD 4) Female/male: IG 38/12, CG 19/6 |
Web-based intervention (LEAP) IG: LEAP CG: use NHS choices website, UK Department of Health |
Physical activity, Mediterranean diet (MD adherence) |
Both IG and CG improved outcomes and no significant differences were detected. | Not possible to calculate effect size |
Mouton 2015 [46] Belgium |
RCT, 4 arms |
One municipality in Belgium n = 204 Mean age 65 Female/male: IG1 20/13, IG2 27/13, IG3 25/13, CG 23/15 |
Web-based, center-based or combined physical activity (PA) intervention IG1: web-based intervention IG2: center-based intervention IG3: mixed (center- and web-based) intervention CG: no intervention |
Physical activity (PA) level Readiness for PA, awareness of PA (general), awareness of PA (opportunities in municipality) |
IG3 improved in PA level (p 0.041), readiness for PA (p 0.001). IG3 improved on awareness of PA (p 0.003) and awareness of PA opportunities in municipality (p 0.001). |
0.06 No data available to calculate CI |
Myhre 2013 USA |
RCT, 3 arms, 8 weeks |
2 cohorts from retirement communities in Arizona n = 41 Mean age 79.4 Female/male: IG1 9/5, IG2 9/4, CG 11/3 |
Micro-blogging shared with others or kept private IG1: Facebook IG2: online diary CG: waitlist |
Knowledge, letter memory, keep track | IG1: knowledge, memory task improved at time 2 vs. baseline (p < 0.01); keep track slightly improved (p < 0.10) | No data on PA |
Nyman 2009 [47] UK |
RCT, no duration specified |
Community in Southampton n = 302 Mean age 70.41 (SD 7.07) Female/male 187/115 |
Website with tailored advice to undertake strength and balance training (SBT) IG: website with tailored advice CG: generic website |
Attitudes to falls-related intervention scale (AFRIS) |
No significant differences in attitudes toward SBT. IG participants indicated that advice was relevant (p 0.017) and activities good (p 0.047). |
No data on PA |
Peels 2013a [48] Netherlands Related publications: Golsteijn 2014 [55], Peels 2012 [56], Peels 2013b [57], Peels 2014a [58], 2014b [59] |
Cluster-RCT, 5 arms, 1 year |
Community members n = 1729 Mean age 62 Female/male: IG1 127/51, IG2 144/112, IG3 111/113, IG4 93/100, CG 158/152 |
Printed or web-based tailored physical activity intervention IG1: printed basic IG2: print-delivered with environmental information IG3: web-based basic IG4: web-based with environmental information CG: No advice |
Process outcomes (appreciation, understanding of information) | IG1-IG2: printed intervention vs web-based intervention was significantly higher 92.7–98.2% read, 70.1–76.5% kept, and 39.9–56.8% discussed, and better appreciated (6.06–6.91 vs 5.05–6.11 on a scale of 1–10) | 0.10 [− 0.04–0.24] |
Slegers 2008 [49] Netherland |
Feasibility RCT, 4 arms, 12 months |
Community in Maastricht n = 236 Age range 64–75 Female/male: ? |
Computer training and Internet usage IG 1: training and intervention IG 2: training, no intervention CG1: no training, no intervention CG2: not interested (passive control) |
Physical and psychological well-being (SF-36) Social well-being and social network |
Most outcomes were not significant. IG participants spent more time on learning new things. |
0.24 [− 0.14–0.63] |
van het Reve 2014 [50] Switzerland |
Preclinical exploratory trial, 12 weeks |
2 institutions for older people and 1 organization providing home nursing care for seniors n = 44 Mean age (years) 75 (SD 6) Female/male: IG1 8/5, IG2 10/4, CG 10/7 |
A tablet with ActiveLifestyle IG1: social group with tablet IG2: individual group with tablet GC: brochure group |
Gait performance (dual-task walking) Physical performance Short physical performance battery (SPPB) Fall efficacy Fall efficacy scale international (FES-I) |
IG1 and IG2 improved significantly in single and dual task walking. IG1, IG2, GC showed SPPB improvement (p 0.02) between pre- and post-test. Group difference for FES-I between GC and IG1et IG2 (p 0.04). |
No data on PA |
Wijsman 2013 [55] Netherlands Related publications: Vroege 2014 [62], Broekhuizen 2016 [63] |
RCT, 3 months |
Community in Leiden n = 235 Age range 60–70 Mean age: GI 64.7 (SD 3.0), CG 64.9 (SD 2.8) Female/male: IG 47/72, CG 49/67 |
Internet-based physical activity intervention: Philips DirectLife IG: Philips DirectLife CG: no intervention |
Physical activity Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) Metabolic parameters Quality of life (RAND-36) |
IG improved PA, weight, waist circumference, insulin and HbA1c (p < 0.001), and MVPA (p < 0.001). IG improved emotional and mental health (p < 0.03) and health change (p < 0.01). |
0.58 [0.31–0.85] |
CG control group, IG1 intervention group 1, IG2 intervention group 2, IG3 intervention group 3, IG4 intervention group 4