EDUCATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ELDERLY THROUGH THE USE OF LEISURE TIME CREATIVELY. A DIAGNOSTIC STUDY

Puebla is a medium size city with a large segment of the population in late adulthood stage. Despite the elderly has more of leisure time available than in other stages of life to participate in activities that maintain body and mind in good shape, the health quality decreases. Spending leisure time in activities that encourage creativity represents an investment towards quality of life. The objective of this research project is to motivate the elderly to spend their leisure time creatively and improve their social life to get better conditions of mental and physical healthy. Considering that the design of persuasive communication requires deep knowledge about the audiences, it is necessary to make a diagnosis to know their perception, meanings, and practices regarding the use of their leisure time. A quantitative study taking in count the Precaution Adoption Process Model was developed. The results function as a basis to define the argumentative strategy to promote a change of behavior applicable to each audience depending on their predisposition to the proposal.