Community Capacity Building for Physical Activity Promotion among Older Adults—A Literature Review

Abstract

Community-based interventions to promote physical activity (PA) among older adults are of high interest in health promotion since they promise to be effective strategies to reach this population group. Community capacity building, that is, the local promotion of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, and leadership, is among the recommended core strategies. However, little guidance is provided on how to achieve a high degree of community capacity. This study aims to identify practical strategies to enhance community capacities for PA promotion among older adults (50 years or older) and to evaluate their success. A literature review was conducted using scientific databases (PsycInfo and Web of Sciences) and grey literature (national and international project databases), and 14 studies (16 articles) were identified. Five groups of capacity building strategies emerged from the literature: (1) building community coalitions and networks, (2) training of professionals, (3) training of laypersons, (4) strengthening competence and awareness in the target population, and (5) allocation of financial resources. All studies used more than one strategy. Coalition building and strengthening competence and awareness were most frequently used. Feasibility and acceptability of the capacity building strategies were demonstrated. However, intervention effects on PA behavior and other relevant outcomes were inconsistent. The one study that systematically compared different capacity building approaches did not find any evidence for beneficial effects of intensified capacity building. More rigorous research evaluating the efficacy of specific strategies to enhance community capacities for PA promotion is needed.

Instilling Good Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among the Indigenous People of Malaysia Concerning Dog Associated Zoonotic Infections

“…Although there were significant improvements in the level of knowledge and attitudes of the community before and after intervention, it is difficult to measure the exact and precise effectiveness of the interventions as different communities have different behaviours and require different methods of evaluation and benchmarks [46,47]. The authors suggest that a sustained commitment to a continuous health education and promotion interventions involving the community and school children which promote knowledge and sharing of skills be custom made for indigenous communities [14,25,26,38,[48][49][50] and sanitation and hygienic practices are important areas that must be reinforced at every opportunity [51,52]. These Orang Asli villages provide opportunities for multidisciplinary professionals to work together using One Health approach to provide health education and promotion concerning zoonotic infections and can be a good training ground for future one health workforce.…”

How Health Promoters Can Assess Capacity Building Processes in Setting-Based Approaches—Development and Testing of a Monitoring Instrument

“…The cooperation of different local actors can facilitate structural changes through equitable engagement of diverse partners [5]. Building networks as well as strengthening competence and awareness in setting members are core strategies of capacity building [6].…”

Wie bereit ist die Kommune? Das Community Readiness-Modell und die beispielhafte Anwendung in der kommunalen Gesundheitsförderung

“…Auch die Frage bezüglich der Wirksamkeit bzw. Evidenz der Capacity Building-Maßnahmen ist noch nicht beantwortet [11].…”

“…Das Implementationsklima beschreibt die Überzeugung in der Bevölkerung und unter den kommunalen Akteuren, das Thema Bewegungsförderung als sinn-▶Tab. 1 Stufen des Community Readiness-Modells (eigene Übersetzung nach[11]). Dimensionen und Beispielfragen des Community Readiness-Assessments (nach[11]).…”

“…1 Stufen des Community Readiness-Modells (eigene Übersetzung nach[11]). Dimensionen und Beispielfragen des Community Readiness-Assessments (nach[11]).…”