Influence of Physical Activity on Health Outcomes in Aging Populations: A Scoping Review for the Determinants, Health benefits, and interventions for Promoting Participation

This project is a scoping review that will attempt to systematically map and synthesize available evidence regarding how physical activity influences the health outcomes of aging populations. The review will discuss the determinants of participation in physical activity, the health benefits of engaging in physical activity, and the interventions that aim at encouraging older adults to engage in physical activity. The elderly population is more vulnerable to chronic diseases and functional impairments, which result in decreased quality of life. Physical activity is one of the main modifiable variables that have been found to be relevant towards healthy aging, but evidence is scattered across different disciplines and study designs. This scoping review will establish, classify, and generalize the range of the literature that exists on the influence of physical activity on health outcomes among older adults and contextual and personal determinants of participation. The review will be conducted according to the accepted scoping review methodological frameworks and should be reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The results of this review will be used to highlight areas of research gaps, future research, and develop evidence-based policies and interventions to encourage physical activity and healthy aging.