Siobhan K McMahon1, Young Shin Park1, Beth Lewis2, Weihua Guan3, J Michael Oakes4, Jean F Wyman1, Alexander J Rothman5. 1. School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 2. School of Kinesiology, Behavioral Aspects of Physical Activity, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 3. Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 4. Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 5. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the availability of community resources, fall and inactivity rates remain high among older adults. Thus, in this article, we describe older adults' self-reported awareness and use of community resources targeting fall prevention and physical activity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted in Phase 1 with community center leaders (n = 5) and adults (n = 16) ≥70 years old whose experience with community programs varied. In Phase 2, surveys were administered to intervention study participants (n = 102) who were ≥70 years old, did not have a diagnosis of dementia, and reported low levels of physical activity. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from Phase 1 data: (a) identifying a broad range of local community resources; (b) learning from trusted sources; (c) the dynamic gap between awareness and use of community resources; and (d) using internal resources to avoid falls. Phase 2 data confirmed these themes; enabled the categorization of similar participant-identified resources (10); and showed that participants who received encouragement to increase community resource use, compared to those who did not, had significantly greater odds of using ≥1 resource immediately postintervention, but not 6 months' postintervention. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Although participants in this study were aware of a broad range of local community resources for physical activity, they used resources that support walking most frequently. Additionally, receiving encouragement to use community resources had short-term effects only. Findings improve our understanding of resources that need bolstering or better dissemination and suggest researchers identify best promotion, dissemination, implementation strategies.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the availability of community resources, fall and inactivity rates remain high among older adults. Thus, in this article, we describe older adults' self-reported awareness and use of community resources targeting fall prevention and physical activity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted in Phase 1 with community center leaders (n = 5) and adults (n = 16) ≥70 years old whose experience with community programs varied. In Phase 2, surveys were administered to intervention study participants (n = 102) who were ≥70 years old, did not have a diagnosis of dementia, and reported low levels of physical activity. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from Phase 1 data: (a) identifying a broad range of local community resources; (b) learning from trusted sources; (c) the dynamic gap between awareness and use of community resources; and (d) using internal resources to avoid falls. Phase 2 data confirmed these themes; enabled the categorization of similar participant-identified resources (10); and showed that participants who received encouragement to increase community resource use, compared to those who did not, had significantly greater odds of using ≥1 resource immediately postintervention, but not 6 months' postintervention. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Although participants in this study were aware of a broad range of local community resources for physical activity, they used resources that support walking most frequently. Additionally, receiving encouragement to use community resources had short-term effects only. Findings improve our understanding of resources that need bolstering or better dissemination and suggest researchers identify best promotion, dissemination, implementation strategies.
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