Gokseong-gun Receives Praise for Customized Healthy Palpal Village Initiative

[Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Healthy life expectancy refers to the period of life excluding the time spent suffering from diseases or injuries within the average lifespan.

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, is receiving positive responses by conducting the Healthy Palpal Village project in a customized manner according to the social distancing levels due to COVID-19.

According to Gokseong-gun on the 5th, Gokseong is a representative longevity area and started the Healthy Palpal Village creation project in 2008 to extend the healthy life expectancy of its residents.

The project operates health practice programs in residents’ living spaces to maintain vitality in rural areas and to improve the self-health management ability of the elderly.

The Healthy Palpal Village in Gokseong-gun selects one village from each of the 11 towns and townships every year based on recommendations from the heads of the towns and townships, and so far, a total of 143 villages (18,598 people / 6,555 aged 65 or older) have participated in the program.

Residents of the Healthy Palpal Village receive physical activity programs such as yoga, walking, and health gymnastics, as well as health education on smoking cessation and nutrition, while the village environment and atmosphere are created to maintain health.

A resident A who participated in the yoga class said, “There is not much opportunity to move at home. But gathering together and following various movements makes me feel healthy both physically and mentally,” expressing expectations for the expansion of the program.

When new Healthy Palpal Villages are designated each year, a project briefing session is held for residents of the 11 villages. In addition, eight items such as blood pressure and blood sugar are tested to measure changes before and after participation in physical activity programs.

However, this year, there were difficulties in conducting the program due to COVID-19.

Accordingly, Gokseong-gun flexibly adjusted face-to-face and non-face-to-face programs according to the social distancing levels and proceeded with the program.

◆ Social Distancing Level 1 ‘Health Practice and Physical Activity Education’

When social distancing level 1 was announced, Gokseong-gun conducted health practice (nutrition, obesity, alcohol moderation) and physical activity education by appropriately mixing non-face-to-face and face-to-face methods. The method was differentiated according to the situation of each village and the residents’ sentiment.

In six villages where education was conducted non-face-to-face, health practice booklets, smoking cessation booklets, physical activity posters, and promotional items (handkerchiefs, etc.) were provided through village chiefs to enable self-health management. In addition, education activities were encouraged by continuous encouragement via text messages and others. In five villages where education was conducted face-to-face, education was carried out while following social distancing level 1 rules such as wearing masks and checking body temperature.

◆ Social Distancing Level 2 ‘Non-face-to-face Life Yoga Class by Local Instructors’

When social distancing level 2 was implemented, from September, a non-face-to-face online physical activity yoga class was held. This was for Healthy Palpal Village residents as well as local residents whose physical activity decreased due to distancing. Also, by recruiting local yoga instructors who could not operate face-to-face yoga classes due to COVID-19, it helped preserve jobs.

Gokseong-gun opened an online cafe called ‘People of Gokseong-gun Healthy Palpal Village’ and posted videos. Residents could easily follow the exercise videos by familiar local instructors anytime and anywhere.

By the end of October, four videos were posted, with about 2,300 views. Encouraged by residents’ support, from November, four sessions of life yoga classes to improve strength in daily life using everyday tools (such as towels) were filmed and posted.

◆ Social Distancing Level 1 Returns ‘Provision of Physical Activity Kits’

Although social distancing was recently lowered to level 1, Gokseong-gun judged that caution is still necessary. Therefore, it is still focusing on non-face-to-face physical activities.

For example, in October, a non-face-to-face physical activity program using physical activity kits was conducted for 130 participants of the 2019 weight control program and those who wished to participate.

Residents use the provided physical activity kits to practice healthy living such as walking, yoga, and drinking water, and send certification photos to the Gokseong-gun Health Medical Center.

One resident expressed gratitude, saying, “Even though the COVID-19 virus is spreading, I am exercising hard at home like this. Thank you for caring about making us exercise.”

Even elderly residents continue non-face-to-face communication with the person in charge by pressing the phone keypad letter by letter. In addition, stretching tools and measuring tapes were distributed to residents of the 11 towns and townships’ Healthy Palpal Villages to help them take care of their bodies that might shrink in the chilly weather.

Gokseong-gun plans to continue the program to increase physical activity among residents despite the COVID-19 virus epidemic situation. Face-to-face programs will also be resumed depending on the future spread of COVID-19. Furthermore, it plans to continuously train health leaders to secure local human resources and provide customized visiting exercise programs tailored to residents’ characteristics.

An official from the county said, “For the healthy lives of residents, we will continue to promote health practice exercises suitable for the with-COVID era, such as non-face-to-face physical activities and expansion of Healthy Palpal Villages.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.