Physical performance among community-dwelling older people in Senawang

Introduction Older adults may remove themselves voluntarily from social activities due to health concerns and physical limitations that leads to loneliness. Additionally, loneliness is associated with poorer health among older adults. Therefore, this study aims to improve health status among community-dwelling older adults in the sub-urban area through this social participation project by creating awareness on empowering the older adults in managing their health and social life. Methods This is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) applying both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data was obtained with a standardized data collection document and obtained during a series of health screening programs. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Key results 87 older adults participated in two health screening events. The mean age was 66 ± 6.5 (SD) years, median BMI was 26.5 (IQR=6.4), mean systolic blood pressure was 141 ± 14.6 (SD) mmHg, median diastolic blood pressure was 78 (IQR=10) mmHg, median timed up and go was 10 (IQR=3) seconds, median trail-making test A was 45.8 (IQR=24.4) seconds, median trail-making test B was 115.8 (IQR=99.3) seconds. The mean hand grip strength for male was 30.76 ± 5.1 (SD) kg for right hand and 31.87 ± 24.5 (SD) kg for left hand. The mean hand grip strength for female was 18.40 ± 5.1 (SD) kg for right hand and 17.14 ± 5.0 (SD) kg for left hand. Discussion The results may represent a portion of community-dwelling older adults who are actively engage in community activities such as religious classes, weddings or events. Therefore, the results showed normal values for all physical and mental tests. However, 61% of the participants were overweight or obese and had higher mean systolic blood pressure suggesting the need for more education and awareness on health management