Community-Dwelling Filipino Older Adults' Experiences with Virtual Coach for Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA): A Phenomenology

Background: Physical inactivity among older adults persists as one of the global burdens. Older adults' physical activity (PA) levels decline simultaneously with age, causing health problems and poor outcomes. Immersive interventions, such as mixed reality virtual coaches, are gaining the potential to provide innovative solutions to prevent physical inactivity among older adults. However, an in-depth understanding of older adults' experience in using virtual-coach-driven physical exercise programs remains unexplored. Purpose: This study explored the experiences of community-dwelling older adults in using a virtual-coach-driven physical exercise program. Design: This study applied a phenomenological design using the qualitative approach to determine the lived experiences of community-dwelling older adults about the mother project, the "Move and Groove for Older Adults Program" (Hataw at Sigla para kay Lolo at Lola), a virtual-coach-driven physical exercise program using MR. A semi-structured interview guide was crafted consisting of three domains (acceptability, barriers, and facilitators), each with two open-ended questions. MAXQDA was used to thematically analyze the qualitative data. Results: Nine key informants shared their experiences with the virtual coach-driven physical exercise program using mixed reality. Four themes were identified describing their experiences with the program: (1) "Looking around": Exploring MR technology, (2) "Looking after": Engaging with MR exercise peers, (3) "Looking at": Examining issues with MR technology devices, and (4) "Looking Ahead": Envisioning the future of MR exercises. Conclusions: The findings of this study introduced new concepts and challenged old notions regarding older adults' technological engagement. The virtual-coach-driven physical exercise program enabled the participants to explore the novel methodology, enhance peer relationships, examine potential issues, and envision a future of possibilities using the technology. These outcomes are pertinent for progressing studies, scholars, and technology developers in incorporating MR into gerontechnology for wellness and fullness of life in the aging population. The mother project of this study was retrospectively registered [ID NCT06136468].