Experimental group receives treatment

Control group

To measure the effectiveness of the intervention, eight variables were assessed: cognitive impairment, quality of life, depression, perceived loneliness, functional capacity to perform basic activities and tasks of daily living (ADL), ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living (iADL) and balance and gait. The following inventories were used as instruments to measure the aforementioned variables at baseline, mid intervention and after intervention: MMSE scale, FUMAT scale, the abbreviated version of the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale, the revised ESTE scale, the Barthel's scale, the Lawton and Brody's test and the Tineti's scale.

The FUMAT scale (Gómez et al., 2008) was used to assess quality of life by means of 8 different dimensions. The higher the score across its eight dimensions, the greater the individual's perceived and objective quality of life. It assesses areas such as emotional well-being, relationships, material well-being, personal well-being, physical well-being, self-determination, inclusion, and rights.

Gómez, L. E., M. A., V., Arias, B., & Navas, P. (2008). Evaluación de la calidad de vida en personas mayores y con discapacidad: La Escala Fumat. Intervención Psicosocial, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.4321/S1132-05592008000200007

Cognitive impairment was assessed via the Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE) (Folstein et al., 1975). The MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) is a 5-10 minute screening test that assesses cognitive status (orientation, memory, attention, language) through 30 simple questions and tasks. It is scored out of 30, where 24 points suggest cognitive impairment. A higher score indicates better cognitive function.

Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). "Mini-mental state." Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(3), 189-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6

The abbreviated version of the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale (Martínez de la Iglesia et al., 2002) was used to assess depression.

The 15-item Abbreviated Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), validated in Spanish by Martínez de la Iglesia et al. (2002), is a reliable, Yes/No questionnaire used to screen for depression in adults over 65. It offers similar diagnostic accuracy to the original 30-item version, typically using a cutoff score >= 5 to indicate depression

Loneliness was assessed using the revised ESTE scale (ESTE-R) (Rubio & Aleixandre, 1999). The ESTE scale is a psychometric tool designed to measure unwanted loneliness in older adults, assessing three key factors: social support, use of new technologies, and social participation. It uses a questionnaire that scores from 0 to 30, determining low, medium, or high levels of loneliness. The higher the total score, the greater the level of loneliness reported by the individual.

Rubio, R., & Aleixandre, M. (1999). La escala "Este", un indicador objetivo de soledad en la tercera edad. Geriatrika. Revista Iberoamericana de Geriatría y Gerontología, 15, 26-35.