ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Physical Activity in the Prevention and Management of Disease
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1526163
This article is part of the Research TopicStrategies in Improving and Encouraging Walking among Older AdultsView all 9 articles
Organization and support as essential part of group exercise programs for older people with dementia: An end-user interview study
Provisionally accepted
Kristin Taraldsen1*
Arnhild J Nygård2Elisabeth Boulton3Guro Grønningsaeter4Marit H Erland5Nina Waldenstrøm6Linda Johnsen7
Gro Gujord Tangen8,9Randi Granbo2- 1Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
- 2NTNU, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
- 3Age UK, london, United Kingdom
- 4Molde kommune, Molde, Møre og Romsdal, Norway
- 5Byåsen Frivillighetssentral, Trondheim, Norway
- 6Trondheim municipality, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
- 7Nordre Follo Municipality, Nordre Follo, Norway
- 8Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health,, tønsberg, Norway
- 9Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Nordland, Norway
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Introduction: Development of accessible group exercise sessions is warranted for home-dwelling older people with cognitive impairment or dementia. This study aimed to explore experiences of participants in a group exercise session organized with volunteers both as instructors and providing support for the participants. Methods: This qualitative descriptive study reports on a primary analysis of qualitative data collected through semi-structured focus group interviews with twelve people with cognitive impairment or dementia at three group exercise sessions in three municipalities. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Participants expressed an overall satisfaction with the new group exercise sessions. We found four meaning units forming a chain of support. Participants highlighted support to be motivated to engage in the sessions, support by offering transportation, the exercise content, and the instructors' role. Overall, participants expressed that these exercise sessions had become a social arena for them, and all wanted to continue. Discussion and conclusions: Exercise groups can be a meaningful and social arena for people with cognitive impairment or dementia, through careful organization with volunteers and minimal involvement from informal caregivers. This study underlines the need for properly organized activities, outside the home, to overcome the challenges associated with participation for this population.
Keywords: dementia1, exercise2, Health Services for the aged3, aged4, aged 80 and over5
Received: 09 Dec 2024; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Taraldsen, Nygård, Boulton, Grønningsaeter, Erland, Waldenstrøm, Johnsen, Tangen and Granbo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kristin Taraldsen, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
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