On September 18th, 2021, The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society published “Changes in activity levels, physical functioning, and fall risk during the COVID-19 pandemic” by Hoffman et al. (2021). The study was conducted by administering randomized online surveys aimed at adults over fifty by doctors and other health professionals. The study was designed to determine if there has been a decline in physical activity in the elderly since the onset of the pandemic. The research paper is comprehensive in discussing the experiment results through its uses of the IMRAD method, using hedging verbs, and different uses of voice and verb tense.
The abstract of the research paper is in a structured format giving a summarization of each part of IMRAD. The abstract uses past tense with specific word choices suggesting this, such as the word “was” to describe the majority of actions done, demonstrating their referral of it already happening. The abstract also uses the active voice. The paper then segues into the introduction, which consists of three paragraphs and provides substantial information regarding the connection between decreased physical activity and how it increases the susceptibility to injuries. This lets the audience know that this is the paper’s main focus and what they are trying to determine the answer to. Also, it’s an active voice. The audience are public health policymakers whom the authors want to enact programs to help rid the elderly of the deconditing. The introduction also introduces the limitations of previous research on this topic and how this new experiment will help fill those gaps. This section also uses hedging verbs such as in the sentence, “These findings can improve understanding of how older adults’ levels of physical disability and injury risk change under rapid shifts in opportunities for physical and social engagement.” The use of the word “can” demonstrates that they are not guaranteeing that the research will improve understanding in the field, but there’s the possibility.
The methods section is written in the past tense and uses the passive voice. Examples of this in the article are, “Two indicators of physical function were assessed: worsened mobility and physical conditioning.” This shows the author’s use of past tense and passive voice as they talk about the actions already being done with words like “were.” The authors also write the method section in a very understandable manner that can be easily replicated and also provide tables that help visualize the experiment further, making it easier.
The results are written using past tense and passive voice writing similarly in other sections. The results section is also written in subheadings detailing different aspects of the data. This is also supported with a data table that detailed the percentage of people reporting their decrease in physical activity and how many have experienced injuries such as falls. Statistical language like “CI” (confidence interval) shows they expect their audience to be familiar with a certain level of statistics to understand aspects of the data.
The discussion section was written in past tense and passive voice. For instance, “Declines in activity were associated with two to three-fold worsening of several self-reported measures of physical function.” This line demonstrates the uses of past tense and passive voice. The conclusion was also written in present tense and passive voice. There were also a lot of hedging verbs being used, such as “might” and “could,” showing they are not being conclusive in their findings, and there is always room for more research. They list limitations in the data, such as in their methods of using cross-sectional data, and that could have caused slight casualty bias.
References
Hoffman GJ, Malani PN, Solway E, Kirch M, Singer DC, Kullgren JT. 2021. Changes in activity levels, physical functioning, and fall risk during the COVID‐19 pandemic. J Am Geriatr Soc. [accessed February 24, 2022]. https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgs.17477
