Health Education on Elderly Exercise to Improve Physical Activity Motivation at Umi Rahma Clinic

Abstract

The increasing number of older adults in Indonesia has been accompanied by a rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases and declining functional capacity due to low levels of physical activity. One promotive effort to improve the health of older adults is regular elderly exercise. However, observations at Umi Rahma 2 Mustika Jaya Clinic indicated that the motivation and knowledge of older adults regarding the benefits of elderly exercise remained low. This community service activity aimed to improve the knowledge and motivation of older adults through health education and elderly exercise demonstrations. The activity was conducted on August 2, 2026, at Umi Rahma 2 Mustika Jaya Clinic and involved 24 older adult participants. The methods included health education using videos and leaflets, elderly exercise demonstrations, and evaluation through pre-tests and post-tests. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. The results showed that before the education was provided, 29.2% of participants had good knowledge, 41.7% had moderate knowledge, and 29.2% had poor knowledge. After the education, the proportion of participants with good knowledge increased to 54.2%, moderate knowledge accounted for 37.5%, and poor knowledge decreased to 8.3%. The Wilcoxon test showed a significant difference in knowledge before and after the education (p = 0.001). In addition, all participants actively participated in the exercise demonstration. The activity was effective in improving older adults' knowledge of the benefits of elderly exercise and was expected to encourage regular physical activity habits to improve their quality of life.