Older adults’ perceptions of adherence to community physical activity groups

Abstract

Community physical activity (PA) groups have come in to being worldwide to inspire older adults to engage in PA. However, there is limited evidence that older adults adhere to these groups, particularly those of a lower socio-economic status, with health conditions, from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups and men. This study aimed to explore experiences of attending PA groups from the viewpoint of community-living older adults, including those sub-groups of the population highlighted above. The purpose was to gain an understanding of what would influence long-term adherence to community PA groups. Eighteen participants aged 65 and above took part in three focus groups carried out in North West England. Thematic network analysis was used for theme generation and interpretation. Low-cost, universal locations are essential to enable older adults to engage regularly in PA, however, it is the social space that is created within these physical settings that is most influential in fostering their long-term adherence. Facilitating cross-cultural relationships and supporting older adults to have more control in shaping the PA environment will ensure that these settings are more conducive to the long-term adherence of diverse groups of older adults.

Older people’s adherence to community-based group exercise programmes: a multiple-case study

“…For others, the motivation was based on remaining well enough to continue to live independently in their own home. This motivation to remain independent has similarly been reported by Hartley and Yeowell [50] in their study of what would potentially influence older people’s adherence to CBGEP. This desire to keep healthy and maintain independence implied a view about caring for the future.…”

“…The roles of social interactions in CBGEP have been noted to add to participants’ networks and serve as a source of support, enjoyment and belonging [9, 50, 53]. This study corroborated these findings indicating that there was strong support for the social features of CBGEP in aiding participant adherence.…”

“The people make it fun, the activities we do just make sure we turn up on time.” Factors influencing older adults’ participation in community-based group programmes in Perth, Western Australia

“…However, while there is compelling evidence on the benefits of group participation for older adults, less well understood are barriers to older adults’ regular participation in group activities (Hartley & Yeowell, ). Much of the evidence base on barriers and enablers to older adults’ participation in group activities comes from quantitative studies (see, for example, Bowling & Stafford, ; Haslam et al, ; Levasseur, Cohen, et al, ; Levasseur, Généreux, et al, ; Richard, Gauvin, Gosselin, & Laforest, ; Steffens et al, ; Ziersch, Osborne, & Baum, ), which provide limited insights into how older adults experience barriers to regular participation.…”

“…Other studies have restricted the sample to older adults who are part of a group (see, for example, Killingback, Tsofliou, & Clark, 2017) and remain silent on the experiences of older adults who do not participate or participate irregularly-a research gap previously highlighted by Hartley and Yeowell (2015). Notable exceptions include studies by Ribeiro et al (2015) and Whaley and Ebbeck (1997), both of which investigated barriers to older adults' participation in exercise programmes.…”

Physical Activity of Older People in Europe and Us

“…Z tego powodu analiza sprawności funkcjonalnej i aktywności fizycznej powinna uwzględ-niać różnice między kohortami i systemami edukacji. Oczywiście różne okoliczności występujące w dorosłym życiu, takie jak zmiana statusu społeczno-ekonomicznego czy dostępność obiektów sportowo-rekreacyjnych, mogą modyfikować realizację wzorca aktywności fizycznej (del Castillo i in., 2010;Halonen i in., 2015;Hartley, Yeowell, 2015). Szczególnie interesujące są te zagadnienia w porównaniu międzyna-rodowym z uwzględnieniem USA.…”