Widening Health Research Initiatives for Older Adults in Malaysia: A Scoping Review of Exercise-Related Physical Activity

Abstract

Increasing health concerns among the older adult population in Malaysia may be ameliorated by the use of physical activity/exercise. To aid in this endeavor from an academic perspective, a scoping review was undertaken to map out the extant literature, identify research gaps, and provide directions for future research on the subject of older adults, physical activity/exercise, and health. The PRISMA-ScR guidelines were followed, and major academic databases were searched for relevant academic literature. From an initial 42,752 database search results, a total of 15 articles were finalized for data extraction, analysis, and synthesis after four rounds of exclusion. Gaps identified include methodological, geographical, and utilization of information technology deficiencies, as well as a lack of longitudinal studies, focus on one specific disease, limitation of ethnicity, lack of customization of exercise programs, and limited types of physical activity or exercise in the present studies. Suggested directions for future research ideas include qualitative research, longitudinal research, use of media and IT for health information dissemination, the inclusion of population segments older than 60 years of age, research focused on diseases other than diabetes, widening research to include socio-demographics such as ethnicity/gender/education/employment and physical activity and exercise, customization of physical activity and exercise programs, and expansion of the types of physical activity and exercise used by. Further research in these areas would assist relevant stakeholders to prepare for the growing aging population in Malaysia.