Effect on Exercise Program using Muscle Strengthening Flowchart on Flexibility, Hand Strength and Depression in Rural Elderly Women

근력강화 순서도를 활용한 운동 프로그램이 농촌 여성노인의 유연성, 악력, 우울에 미치는 영향

Purpose: The strudy was done to determine the effect of an exercise program using the muscle strengthening flowchart on flexibility and hand strength and depression of rural elderly women. Methods: For 11 months, from January 9, to November 29, 2013, a survey was done of 37 voluntary participants who were elderly women living in rural areas. This study was a one group pretest-posttest Quasi-experimental research design to identify the effectiveness of self-directed programs. The Korean version of the depression measurement tool (Jo and Kim, 1993) was used. The collected data were analyzed using frequency, descriptive statistics, and paired t-test with SPSS /PC 17.0 program. Results: Comparison of before and after the self-directed program showed that flexibility (p <.001), left grip strength (p <.001), and right grip strength (p <.001) were significantly increased. Depression (p <.001) was significantly reduced. Conclusion: The results of the study show that the exercise program using the muscle strengthening flowchart resulted in of significant muscle strengthening and reduction in depression in rural elderly women. Future use of the muscle strengthening flowchart is recommended to provide long-term operational exercise programs.