The Development of an Evaluation Index System for Assessing the Impact of Sports Tourism on the Health of the Elderly in Xi'an City

Abstract

Background and Aim: With the deepening of population aging, attention to the health issues of the elderly has become particularly important. Sports tourism, as a beneficial activity for physical and mental well-being, has great potential for maintaining and enhancing the health of the elderly. However, there is currently a lack of a systematic evaluation index system to assess the impact of sports tourism on the health of the elderly. This research objective was to develop the evaluation index system for assessing the impact of sports tourism on the health of the elderly in Xi'an City. Materials and Methods: This study took the construction of the evaluation index system of sports tourism on the health of the elderly aged 60 and above in Xi'an as the research object, and selected experts including 5 Elderly social science-related teachers were selected from universities. Two rounds Delphi method uses 17 Elderly experts in related fields, sports government departments, and managers of the Palace of Culture for the elderly to participate in the expert consensus on key indicators. Use organized a focus group composed of 9 elderly teachers from universities, sports government departments, and administrators of the Cultural Palace for the Elderly. Result: (1) The Kendall's W values of the first-level, second-level, and third-level indicators were 0.208, 0.169, and 0.156 all of the W values show relatively low agreement. The P-value of the first-level, second-level, and third-level indicators were 0.014, 0.000, and 0.000 indicating that the observed difference is statistically significant. (2) Physical health measurement and mental health measurement are the most important first-level indicators, with weights of 0.37 and 0.38. Physical fitness measures, the ability to perform activities of daily living, and disease status are the most important secondary indicators. The mental health measures, positive performance, and negative performance are the most important third indicators. The social health measure and the sports tourism activity measure were relatively low weighted at 0.16 and 0.09, respectively. This means that for the health evaluation of the elderly in Xi'an, the importance of physical and mental health and social health is higher. Conclusion: (1) The evaluation index system of sports tourism for the health of the elderly in Xi'an was constructed, and 4 first-level, 14 secondary, and 37 third-level indicators were finally formed. (2) The weight ratio of indicators at all levels was determined. (3) Through focus group discussion, the importance of sports tourism on the health of the elderly in Xi'an was concluded.