The aging process is often coupled with major life changes such as retirement, death of friends and family members, and declines in physical and psychological functioning. Intuitively, any one or a conjunction of these events might be expected to lead to decreases in positive affect (PA) and increases in negative affect (NA). However, older adults tend to be emotionally positive and stable even late in life. Thus, it is possible that emotion-based strategies for coping with the challenges presented in later life can be used effectively by older adults, even amidst potential vulnerabilities in other domains. The design of effective interventions and technologies aimed at facilitating this coping process, will depend on understanding that emotions can influence health in different ways. Affect level and intraindividual variability (IIV) are independently related to distal factors such as personality and health-related outcomes such as immune functioning and mortality, among others. By nature, emotions are subject to daily fluctuations that cannot be captured by investigation of mean affect levels alone. Research on affect IIV has focused primarily on whether there are stability differences in younger and older adults. In general, older adults tend to be more stable, perhaps because the failure to regulate emotions is particularly detrimental for older adults’ physiological health. It is therefore important to understand how proximal factors in everyday life lead to intraindividual emotional changes. The primary goal of this study was to identify the factors occurring within older adults’ daily lives that predicted emotional deviations and to determine whether individuals differed in the types of factors that were emotionally-relevant. As such, it was imperative to employ a methodology that could differentiate the factors that evoked consistent emotional responses across all individuals from the factors whose impact on affect were person-dependent. Specifically, participants were given online surveys three times per day for 20 consecutive weekdays that included assessments of their current positive and negative emotional states and questions (at least once per day) about their stress, pain, sleep quality, life space, physical activity, and social activity. Multilevel modeling (MLM) was used to determine if there was significant affect IIV for these older adults and how much IIV could be explained by these proximal predictors. This analysis approach was used because it is well-suited for nested data (in this case, observations nested within-persons) and does not assume independence of observations (which is a concern when individuals receive repeated assessments). Additionally, MLM analyzes the complete dataset rather than complete cases (individuals), which allowed for comparison of fixed effects regression models and random effects regression models. Random effects models, which are the hallmark of MLM, enabled the analysis of potential individual differences in the within-person relationships between the predictors and affect. As expected, there was significant affect IIV in these older adults for both PA and NA. The predictors of PA and NA were analyzed first in isolation (referred to as “isolated models”) and then when controlling for the other proximal variables (referred to as “full models”). The random effects isolated models were generally better fitting than the fixed effects isolated models, indicating that the models that did not constrain individual predictor-affect slopes to be the same across persons (random) were more accurate representations of the observed data than models that constrained individuals’ slopes to be the same (fixed). Full fixed slopes and full random slopes models were built in stepwise fashion based on the results of the isolated models. Again, the random effects full models better fit the observed data than the fixed effects models for both PA and NA, providing strong evidence in favor of the hypothesis that a larger percentage of affect IIV would be explained when allowing individual differences in the within-person predictor-affect relationships. The full random models accounted for 32% of the PA IIV, and 45% of the NA IIV. These were both better fitting than their respective null models, indicating that overall, the proximal predictors accounted for significant proportions of the within-person PA and NA variance. Certain factors accounted for larger percentages of the IIV than others and in general, there were differences between the PA and NA model in terms of which factors led to emotional fluctuations. Subjective health accounted for the largest percentage of PA IIV and stress accounted for the largest percentage of NA IIV. Additionally, subjective health, life space, stress, and pain were significant unique predictors of PA, NA, or both. However, there were specific unique effects across both PA and NA, namely, the slope variances for stress and pain. Follow-up analyses were unable to account for these slope variances using person-level predictors. In essence, an individual’s emotional reactivity to pain and stress did not depend on his or her overall mean level of those factors, or of the other daily predictors. This provided further evidence that PA and NA should be treated as separable variables (e.g., it is possible for a daily event to decrease older adult’s positivity without necessarily increasing their negativity) but also highlighted factors that have pervasive influences on emotion regardless of valence, which is harmonious with models of affect that propose a dynamic relationship between PA and NA. The results from this study have theoretical and practical implications. Theories on emotional stability often focus on if and why older adults are more stable than younger adults. Findings of the present study both support and expand upon these theories by identifying within an older adult population, which proximal factors were likely to cause emotional deviations after partialling out the effects of other daily variables, including factors that were previously unstudied in this domain. The analysis methodology implemented in the present research allowed for direct investigation of whether certain individuals were more prone to the influences of these factors than others. These results are discussed in the context of coping and resiliency theories that posit individual differences in emotional responses to stimuli based on these capabilities. From a practical perspective, these results highlight that the design of interventions and technologies intended to provide older adults with effective skills and resources to maintain or improve their emotional well-being should be tailored to individuals’ affective profiles.

The Internet has infiltrated our daily lives in many ways. Social networking on the Internet is a great example of how the Internet has expanded interpersonal communication. Many individuals have made social networking sites, like FaceBook and Twitter, an essential part of their lives and use these platforms to communicate daily. Until recently, young people have been the primary participants in this fast-growing phenomenon, and older adults' participation in the Internet, specifically social networking sites, has lagged far behind. However, in recent years, there has been a noteworthy increase in the number of older adult participants. The increase in older adult participation in social networking sites is important because it seems to signify a decrease in the Internet usage gap called the "digital divide", and because there is strong evidence older adults may greatly benefit from social networking activity. The aging of the Baby Boomers has resulted in significant growth in the senior age group, reinforcing the timely importance of considering the older adults' "digital divide". This study uses a phenomenological approach to explore the experience of older adult users of social networking sites to determine the reasons why more older adults are now making social networking sites part of their lives. The study revealed both negative and positive influences on this choice that include: early negative personal experiences with technology, positive family influences, an increasing prevalence of technology, and technology's transition from complexity of use to ease of use. Although some resulting attitudes of older adults are negative, such as a need to control the role of social media in their life, online social networking plays a positive role in their lives. The probing, detailed nature of this phenomenological study clarifies influences and offers new perspectives, implying that research could benefit from a broader and deeper inspection. Research should consider, as related to the use of technology by older adults, a closer look at the effectiveness of training, potential gender differences in the choice to use technology, and the consequences of negative technological experiences.

The Nature and Perceived Influence of Lifestyle Discussions with Older Adults in Primary Care Rationale: A healthy diet and physical activity help with disease prevention and disease management and can promote quality of life regardless of the age at which an individual begins engaging in these behaviors. Despite the value of these health behaviors, many older adults do not follow lifestyle recommendations. Given that older adults frequently interact with the healthcare system, primary care providers are well situated to counsel older adults to improve their health behaviors. Unfortunately, we do not know how to most effectively engage in this counseling. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand whether and how providers discuss diet and physical activity with their older patients and how patients perceive their providers’ communication regarding diet and physical activity. Method: One hundred and four older adults, ranging in age from 65 to 95, consented to have their routine primary care visits recorded and immediately following their visits engaged in semi-structured interviews regarding current health behaviors and perceptions of their providers’ diet and physical activity recommendations. Clinical visits were selectively transcribed and analyzed using qualitative description. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed through a process of constant comparison. Findings: Discussions of diet and physical activity occurred in over two thirds of visits; recommendations for diet and physical activity occurred in less than half of these discussions. The majority of patients correctly recalled whether or not discussions of diet or physical activity had taken place. Patients reported that the likelihood of engaging in healthy diet and physical activity related to personal motivation and perceived confidence in the ability to make effective changes, both of which could be influenced by providers’ recommendations. When providers did not discuss diet or physical activity, or mentioned these topics only briefly, patients often perceived the message that they should continue with their current behaviors. Implications: These findings support an integrated theoretical framework, highlighting the role of autonomy and confidence, for understanding how providers can promote patients’ health behaviors. Implications for providers’ training and the healthcare system are discussed.

In recent years, empirical research has consistently supported an association between susceptibility to affective illness and creativity at the level of eminent achievement and at the non-eminent, or "everyday creativity" level. Although this research has provided greater evidence for the existence of this link, it has simultaneously unearthed more questions about how and why such an association exists. The purpose of this research was twofold: first, to provide further analysis of the nature of the relationship between hypomanic traits and creativity by employing a longitudinal study to determine the extent to which inter-individual differences over time in creativity are predicted by hypomanic traits. Second, the purpose of the cross-sectional analysis in the present study was to further determine how developmental components such as age and expertise may help unravel the ways in which hypomanic traits contribute to creativity and to further describe inter-individual differences among these variables. The first hypothesis, which proposed that the direction of the relationship between hypomanic traits and creativity could be predicted, was not supported by these results. The second research hypothesis was partially supported: hypomanic traits predict creativity in the combined adolescent and older adult samples. However, upon further examination of the regression analyses, the data indicate that the relationship between hypomanic traits and creativity is also influenced by age and developmental factors. Furthermore, the way in which the relationship is influenced by these other factors depends on the way in which the creativity construct is measured (e.g., process or personality. The findings suggest that the antecedents of creativity may differ between adolescents and older adults. In adolescents, the hypomanic traits measure is the only variable that predicts creative personality and creative process, while expertise is the only variable to predict creative personality and creative process among the older adults in this study. It appears expertise significantly and uniquely contributes to at least two areas of creativity in older adults, while hypomanic traits significantly and uniquely contributes to the same two areas of creativity in adolescents. Implications of these findings and limitations to this study are discussed.

Previous research examining the impact of training and practice effects on modifying performance of fluid intelligence tasks (Gf) and crystallized intelligence tasks (Gc) were extended to include self-rated performance attributions among non-depressed and depressed older persons. The following general questions were addressed. How does level of depression affect performance on Gf and Gc measures and performance attributions? How does level of depression and degree of benefit from either training or practice relate to changes in attributional styles? The framework used for predicting shifts in attributional styles was the reformulated learned helplessness model. Three hundred twenty-five community-dwelling older persons completed the Gf/Gc Sampler, Beck Depression Inventory, and Attributions for Success/Failure Questionnaire at pretest, posttest (one week), and follow-up (one month). Between the pretest and posttest sessions, subjects participated in one of three experimental conditions; (a) cognitive (induction) training, (b) stress inoculation training, and (c) no-contact control groups. The results from univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance procedures provided partial support for the hypotheses. At pretest, both non-depressed and depressed older persons had internal attributional styles, although based on differential performance outcomes. The depressed persons were found to have more failure experiences as a result of their significantly poorer performance on Gf tasks, versus the non-depressed. Specific Gf training effects were documented regarding attributional shifts for the non-depressed, while there were no changes on their attributional style due to practice on either Gf or Gc tasks. In contrast, only differential practice effects were documented for depressed subjects across Gf and Gc tasks. The importance of assessing personality dimensions in older persons and their xelationship to training and practice effects were discussed, in addition to limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

Depression is believed to be the most prevalent mental dysfunction among older adults, and depression and anger are frequently linked in theory and in therapy. This study was undertaken to determine whether participation in group counseling sessions would increase awareness and expression of anger and decrease depression levels in women aged 65 and older. Treatment group members were compared to a matching control group. Both groups completed the Anger Self Report Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. Comparison of the ASR subscale scores, Awareness of Anger, Expression of Anger, Guilt, Condemnation of Anger, and Mistrust, revealed no significant differences between the treatment and control groups. However, the treatment group scored significantly higher on the BDI than did the control group. Analysis of variance of the ASR and the BDI, and the variables upon which the treatment and control groups were matched revealed some significant differences, and comparison of the women in this study with the two groups upon whom the ASR was validated showed this study's older women scored significantly lower than the validation groups on the ASR. The author concluded that six sessions is not long enough to effect change in either anger awareness or expression in older women, and more time is needed to establish group cohesiveness in older populations than that generally thought to be needed for younger populations. Replication of the study with men and women, and replication of Khe study using a longitudinal design is recommended in order to determine whether awareness and expression of anger change with age, or whether differences between older and younger populations are due to historical and environmental influences.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the pattern and predictors of use of antiplatelet agents and beta-blockers given in the emergency department (ED) to older adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and its effects on in-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay (LOS) and to determine the effect of computerized ED guideline reminders on their utilization. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) ED data for years 1992 to 2010 was conducted. Patients were included if they had an admission diagnosis of AMI (ICD-9-CM code 410.xx) and were ≥55 years. Survey logistic regression was used to examine whether there was a trend in the use of antiplatelet agents and beta-blockers across the years and to explore the association between various predictor variables, including ED computerized guideline reminders, and their utilization rates. The chi-square test was used to see whether users of these drugs were different from non-users in their rates of in-hospital mortality. Survey linear regression was used to explore the effect of utilization of these drugs on LOS. All the visits were weighted to get national estimates. All of the analyses were carried out with SAS 9.3 statistical package. RESULTS: A total of 1,771 visits (weighted frequency = 6.1 million) were eligible for this study. Both antiplatelet agents and beta-blockers were shown to have a positive trend across the years. Age, sex, chest pain, triage, using an ambulance, and metropolitan region were all found to be significant predictors of either antiplatelet agent or beta-blocker utilization. Use of beta-blockers was associated with lower in-hospital mortality. Neither drug class had an effect on LOS. Finally, patients who were treated in EDs with computerized guideline reminders were twice as likely to get an antiplatelet agent, but this was not seen with beta-blockers. CONCLUSION: This study displayed a positive pattern across the years in the use of antiplatelet agents and beta-blockers given to older AMI patients. It also showed that age, sex, and other important variables were significant predictors of their utilization. The use of beta-blockers yielded lower in-hospital mortality. Finally, the use of ED reminders increased antiplatelet agent utilization.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito do treinamento de força muscular dos membros inferiores na estabilidade postural de mulheres idosas. As participantes (n =21) eram saudáveis, com idade entre 60 e 75 anos (M = 64,4 anos), e foram designadas a um grupo de treinamento (TF) ou a um grupo controle (CO). Esses grupos foram comparados em estabilidade postural e força antes e após um programa de treinamento de força para o grupo TF. A estabilidade postural foi avaliada em posturas eretas estáticas com apoio unipodal e bipodal, e em situações em que a estabilidade postural bipodal foi perturbada de forma previsível ou imprevisível. A perturbação previsível foi produzida por um movimento voluntário, por meio da elevação rápida com as mãos, de cargas conhecidas: 1 Kg, 3 Kg ou 5 Kg. A perturbação imprevisível foi produzida pela alteração inesperada da carga de 3 Kg para a carga de 1 Kg ou de 5 Kg antes de sua elevação. Os resultados indicaram aumento da força muscular após o treinamento de força. Quanto à estabilidade postural, nãob foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os grupos após o treinamento para as tarefas de apoio bipodal e apoio unipodal. A estabilidade postural foi afetada principalmente, quando uma carga mais leve foi elevada na situação imprevisível, gerando maior deslocamento anterior e posterior do CP. Entretanto, não houve efeito do treinamento de força no deslocamento do CP. Após o treinamento de força, o grupo TF apresentou uma redução do tempo de deslocamento posterior do CP e uma redução na variabilidade de amplitude do CP após ajustes compensatórios. Estes resultados sugerem que o treinamento de força não afeta o equilíbrio de idosos em situações estáticas ou componentes de ajustes iniciais com a perturbação da postura, mas houve um efeito positivo nos componentes tardios de ajustes após a perturbação / The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of strength training of the lower limbs on postural stability of older women. Participants (n =21) were healthy, with ages ranging between 60 and 75 years (M=64.4 years); they were assigned to two groups: strength training (ST) and control (CO). These groups were compared for postural stability and muscular strength before and after a strength training program for the ST group. Postural stability was evaluated in uni and bipodal static stance, and in situations of predictable and unpredictable perturbation of balance. The predictable disturbance was produced through the action of lifting a known load (1 kg, 3 kg or 5 kg) with the hands. The unpredictable disturbance was produced by an unexpected alteration of the load of 3 kg to 1 kg or 5 kg right before lifting the load up. The results indicated increased muscle strength after strength training. Regarding postural stability, no significant difference was detected between groups for uni/bipodal static postures. Postural stability was most affected when a lighter weight was lifted in the unpredictable situation, leading to greater anterior and posterior center of pressure (CP) displacement. Strength training, however, had no effect on the initial CP displacement. After training, the ST group showed shorter time of posterior CP displacement and lower variability of CP range after compensatory adjustments. These results suggest that strength training for elderly individuals does not affect stability in static postures or the early component of adjustments to balance perturbation, but it has a positive effect on the late component of adjustments to balance perturbation

A informação háptica fornecida pelo toque leve (TL) e pelas âncoras reduz a oscilação postural durante a postura em pé. No entanto, não está claro se esse benefício permaneceria na presença de tarefas cognitivas em adultos jovens e em idosos com e sem histórico de quedas. Assim, os objetivos foram: 1) investigar os efeitos das âncoras e de tarefas cognitivas visuais e auditivas no controle postural em adultos jovens em uma tarefa postural desafiadora (Estudo 1); 2) investigar o efeito das dicas hápticas fornecidas pelo TL e pelas âncoras durante a realização de uma tarefa cognitiva visual idosos com e sem histórico de quedas quando na postura em pé (Estudo 2). Sessenta e quatro indivíduos foram distribuídos em três grupos: adultos jovens (n=20), idosos caidores (n=22) e idosos não caidores (n=22). Para os adultos jovens (Estudo 1), a tarefa consistiu em permanecer em pé em uma trave de equilíbrio com pés distantes na largura dos ombros sem e com o uso das âncoras, sem e com tarefas cognitivas (teste visual de Stroop adaptado e tarefa auditiva de monitoramento de dígitos). Para os idosos (Estudo 2), a tarefa consistiu em permanecer na postura ereta com os pés unidos desempenhando seis condições experimentais combinando dicas hápticas (sem contato, TL e âncoras) e na presença ou ausência da tarefa cognitiva visual (teste visual de Stroop adaptado). Os resultados do estudo 1 mostraram que para os adultos jovens os benefícios do uso das âncoras não foram influenciados pelas tarefas cognitivas. Mesmo em superfície desafiadora, a oscilação postural foi reduzida para facilitar a execução das tarefas cognitivas. Os resultados do estudo 2 revelaram que os idosos com e sem histórico de quedas se beneficiaram igualmente da adição de dicas hápticas. A presença da tarefa cognitiva-visual reduziu a oscilação postural em ambos os grupos. De maneira geral, tanto o TL quanto as âncoras foram eficazes na redução da oscilação postural em adultos jovens e idosos com e sem histórico de quedas, sugerindo que a informação háptica foi capaz de beneficiar o controle postural mesmo em condições de tarefas cognitivas, demonstrando que jovens e idosos, particularmente aqueles com histórico de quedas, foram capazes de modular funcionalmente o controle postural de forma a facilitar a execução das tarefas cognitivas. / Haptic information provided by the light touch (LT) and the anchors reduce the postural sway during upright standing. It is unclear whether this benefit would remain in the presence of cognitive tasks in young and older adults with and without a history of falls. Thus, the aims were: 1) to investigate the effects of the anchors and the visual and auditory cognitive tasks on postural control in young adults in a challenging balancing task (Study 1); 2) to investigate the effect of haptic input provided by LT and anchors while performing a cognitive-visual task in older adults with and without a history of falls when standing upright (Study 2). Sixtyfour individuals were divided into three groups: young adults (n=20), faller older adults (n=22) and non-faller older adults (n=22). For the young adults (Study 1), the task consisted in standing upright on a balance beam with feet apart at shoulders width while performing 6 experimental conditions combining the anchors (with or without) and the cognitive tasks (none, the adapted visual Stroop test and the auditory digit monitoring task). For the older adults (Study 2), the task consisted in standing upright with feet together while performing six experimental conditions combining haptic cues (none, LT, and anchors) and the presence/absence of the cognitive-visual task (the adapted visual Stroop test). The results of the study 1 showed that the cognitive tasks did not affect the benefits of the anchors for the young adults. Even on a challenging surface, the postural sway reduced to facilitate the execution of the cognitive tasks. The results of the study 2 revealed that the older adults benefited similarly from the haptic cues, independently their history of falls. The presence of the cognitive-visual task reduced the postural sway in both groups. In general, both LT and anchors were effective to reduce postural sway in young and older (fallers and non-fallers) adults, suggesting that the haptic information was able to benefit the postural control even with cognitive tasks, demonstrating that young and older adults, particularly those with a history of falls, were able to functionally modulate their postural control to facilitate the execution of the cognitive tasks.

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-08-09T14:11:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LuanaVieiraAlvesValdugaDissertacao2018.pdf: 829106 bytes, checksum: ab49ea660113ee1c8e745716fc20e547 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-08-09T14:11:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LuanaVieiraAlvesValdugaDissertacao2018.pdf: 829106 bytes, checksum: ab49ea660113ee1c8e745716fc20e547 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T14:11:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LuanaVieiraAlvesValdugaDissertacao2018.pdf: 829106 bytes, checksum: ab49ea660113ee1c8e745716fc20e547 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-26 / In recent years, the population of elderly people has gained prominence in terms of representative growth. With the aging, a good part of the elderly present a decline in their functions, which reduces the functional capacity and makes the elderly fragile, especially by the reduction of strength that reduces balance and brings risks to maintain the independence of the elderly. The intervention performed in the elderly should be done not only playful but also pleasurable to minimize complications to encourage adherence to interventions. Virtual games have been used for interventions in this public, however they are not produced for this purpose. New games have been created and applied to the elderly to meet their needs. The objective of the present study was to identify the effect of a brief intervention with the use of a virtual game in elderly people. This is a quasi-experimental study carried out at the Cardiology Institute of the Federal District, in Taguatinga-DF, and in the Laboratory of Physical Evaluation and Training of the Catholic University of Brasília, from October to December 2017. The research evaluated the capacity (TUG) and 5-fold sit-up test (TSL5X), measured strength using the isokinetic dynamometer and also assessed fragility by means of the fragility phenotype in a sample composed of elderly individuals who were older than program. The sample was composed at the end by 10 participants who finished the 10 sessions, with a mean age of 83.5 years. There was no difference between the pre and post-intervention moments in the comparative analysis of measures related to functional capacity, TUG, Sit and lift test 5 repetitions and knee extensor strength test (p> 0.05), however, the evaluation of muscle strength of the knee extensors presented a mean variation of 14% increment in the MID and 11% in the SEM in 7 volunteers. There was improvement in the classification of risk of falls where 6 participants obtained a reduction in TUG time. In the sit-up and sit-up test 5 repetitions there was an 8% increase in participants' performance. Regarding the fragility, there was no change in the classification of the fragility phenotype. It is concluded, therefore, that the use of virtual play as an intervention strategy has positive effects on muscular strength and functional capacity in the elderly. / Nos últimos anos a população de idosos longevos tem ganhando destaque quanto ao crescimento representativo. Com o envelhecimento boa parte dos idosos apresentam declínio de suas funções, o que diminui a capacidade funcional e torna o idoso frágil, sobretudo pela diminuição de força que reduz equilíbrio e traz riscos para manutenção da independência do idoso. A intervenção realizada no idoso deve ser feita de maneira não só lúdica como também prazerosa para minimizar as complicações estimular a adesão a intervenções. Jogos virtuais vem sendo utilizados para intervenções nesse público, entretanto não são produzidos com essa finalidade. Novos jogos vêm sendo criados e aplicado em idosos atendendo suas necessidades. O Objetivo do presente estudo foi identificar o efeito de uma intervenção breve com uso de um jogo virtual em idosos longevos. Trata-se um estudo quase-experimental realizada no Instituto de Cardiologia do Distrito Federal, em Taguatinga-DF, e no Laboratório de Avaliação Física e Treinamento da Universidade Católica de Brasília, no período de outubro a dezembro de 2017. A pesquisa avaliou a capacidade funcional, por meio do Timed up and go test (TUG) e teste de sentar e levantar 5 vezes (TSL5X), aferiu força com uso do dinamômetro isocinético e avaliou também fragilidade por meio do fenótipo de fragilidade em uma amostra composta por idoso longevos do programa PROCAD. A amostra foi composta ao final por 10 participantes que finalizaram as 10 sessões, com idade média de 83,5 anos. Não houve diferença entre os momentos pré e pós-intervenção na análise comparativa das medidas relacionadas a capacidade funcional, TUG, Teste de sentar e levantar 5 repetições e teste de força de extensores de joelho (p>0,05), no entanto a avaliação de força muscular dos extensores de joelho apresentou variação média de 14% de incremento no MID e 11% em MIE em 7 voluntários. Houve melhora quanto a classificação de risco de quedas onde 6 participantes obtiveram redução no tempo do TUG. No teste de levantar e sentar 5 repetições houveram 8% de aumento do desempenho dos participantes. Quanto a fragilidade não houve mudança na classificação do fenótipo de fragilidade. Conclui-se, portanto, que o uso de jogo virtual como estratégia de intervenção apresenta efeitos positivos sobre a força muscular e capacidade funcional em idosos.