Family Orchards and Health-Related Quality of Life in the Elderly. A Protocol for a Study in Las Hurdes (Spain) Based on an Ethnographic Approach

Miguel Madruga, Jorge Carlos-Vivas, María Mendoza-Muñoz, José Carmelo Adsuar, Lorenzo Mariano-Juárez and David Conde-Caballero
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Miguel Madruga: Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Body Expression, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Jorge Carlos-Vivas: Promoting a Healthy Society (PHeSo) Research Group, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
María Mendoza-Muñoz: Promoting a Healthy Society (PHeSo) Research Group, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
José Carmelo Adsuar: Promoting a Healthy Society (PHeSo) Research Group, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Lorenzo Mariano-Juárez: Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, Interdisciplinary Study Group on Society, Culture and Health (GISCSA), University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
David Conde-Caballero: Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, Interdisciplinary Study Group on Society, Culture and Health (GISCSA), University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Demographic evolution is resulting on an aged population increment in Spain. This growth has been more relevant in rural areas, where the population has traditionally lived under hard socio-economic conditions and leveraging the natural resources such as food from family orchards to survive. Studies that have investigated the possibilities and uses of these traditional family orchards today in relation to health-related quality of life in the elderly are scarce. Based on a previous ethnography, this mixed research aims to describe a protocol that will evaluate the effects of the use of traditional family orchards as a daily resource on fitness and quality of life of the elderly population in Las Hurdes (Spain). Body composition, fitness, mental health, health-related quality of life, and activity-related behaviors of participants will be assessed. The outcomes of this study might enable us to design further tailored physical exercise-based interventions using family orchards as an adequate resource to improve the health-related quality of life and fitness of the elderly in rural areas. In addition, the study detailed here might also be applied to other similar rural areas in Spain and worldwide.

Keywords: ethnography; aging; health; family orchards; quality of life; study protocol; rural areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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