ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There are substantial socioeconomic status (SES) differences in sports activity (SA) during the transition to retirement. In line with social-ecological models, the aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the association of perceptions of social and physical neighborhood factors with changes in SA across the retirement transition and to examine potential interactions with SES factors. METHODS: Data from 6 waves of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) provided 710 participants (at baseline: mean age 61.1, 52.9% of men) who retired between baseline (1996, 2002, 2008, 2011) and their 6-year follow-up assessment. Associations between changes in SA (increases and decreases compared to retaining) and individual SES and neighborhood factors were estimated using multinomial logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Increases were observed in 18.45% of participants, decreases in 10%. Occupational prestige was a risk factor for decreases, education a resource for increases in SA. Interactions between household income and several neighborhood factors were observed. CONCLUSIONS: In line with social-ecological models, individual, neighborhood factors and interacting associations were found. In particular safety perceptions could be a resource for promotion SA in older adults who experience disadvantage.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Communities are important settings for health promotion and prevention. The community readiness assessment offers a structured approach to assess resources and opportunities to tackle a health problem within a community. The assessment relies on semi-structured interviews with key informants from the communities. A number of 4-6 key informant interviews are recommended in the literature. However, it is unclear whether this is sufficient to obtain a valid representation of the respective community. This study analysed whether increasing the number of key informants from 4-6 to 12-15 alters the results of the community readiness assessment. RESULTS: A total of 55 community readiness interviews were carried out in 4 communities. Overall, the community readiness scores showed little variation after having interviewed 10 key informants in a community. However, even after completing 10 interviews in a community, key informants were still able to identify up to 6 new information items regarding community efforts for physical activity promotion among the elderly, contact and communication channel for informing or approaching the target group, or barriers to participation.
Subject(s)
Exercise , Health Promotion , Aged , HumansABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: It remains unclear how physical activity (PA) interventions need to be designed to reach older adults and to be widely accepted in this target group. The aim of this study was to assess the acceptance of a web-based PA program, including individual intervention components as well as relevant contextual factors, and to specify requirements for future interventions. METHODS: Two hundred sixty-six participants of a PA intervention completed a questionnaire covering individual program components (content, structure, and context). Further, 25 episodic guided interviews focusing on reasons for (non-) participation were conducted with 8 participants and 17 non-participants. Following qualitative content analysis, different requirements were identified and organized based on the social-ecological model, resulting in a profile of requirements. RESULTS: Based on the participants' and non-participants' statements, six different levels of requirements affecting acceptance of and successful participation in a web-based PA intervention were identified. The individual fit was influenced by an interaction of different factors at the intrapersonal, sociocultural, content, spatial, digital and organizational levels. Several age- and gender-specific requirements were noted in the interviewed older adults. Men and women, as well as younger (< 70 years) and older (≥70 years) adults differed in terms of perceived enjoyment and benefits of socializing while exercising together, the time expenditure perceived to be acceptable, previous digital skills, as well as in perceptions that ambience and accessibility of exercise facilities in the neighborhood were important. CONCLUSIONS: To motivate older adults to engage in PA and address different needs in terms of life circumstances and quality of life as well as differences in technical affinity, different requirement profiles should be included in the process of intervention development and implementation. Participatory development loops and modular offer formats are recommended for this.
