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AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Dec 4, 2008
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99/2/362    most recent
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February 2009, Vol 99, No. 2 | American Journal of Public Health 362-368
© 2009 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.131466

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Best-Practice Physical Activity Programs for Older Adults: Findings From the National Impact Study

Susan L. Hughes, DSW, Rachel B. Seymour, PhD, Richard T. Campbell, PhD, Nancy Whitelaw, PhD and Terry Bazzarre, PhD

Susan L. Hughes, Rachel B. Seymour, and Richard T. Campbell are with the School of Public Health and the Center for Research on Health and Aging, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois, Chicago. Nancy Whitelaw is with the National Council on Aging, Washington, DC. Terry Bazzarre is with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ.

Correspondence: Request for reprints should be sent to Susan L. Hughes, Center for Research on Health and Aging, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W. Roosevelt Road, Room 558, Chicago, IL 60608 (e-mail: shughes{at}uic.edu).

Objectives. We assessed the impact of existing best-practice physical activity programs for older adults on physical activity participation and health-related outcomes.

Methods. We used a multisite, randomized trial with 544 older adults (mean age 66 years) and measures at baseline, 5, and 10 months to test the impact of a multiple-component physical activity program compared with results for a control group that did not participate in such a program.

Results. For adults who participated in a multiple-component physical activity program, we found statistically significant benefits at 5 and 10 months with regard to self-efficacy for exercise adherence over time (P < .001), adherence in the face of barriers (P = .01), increased upper- and lower-body strength (P = .02, P = .01), and exercise participation (P = .01).

Conclusions. Best-practice community-based physical activity programs can measurably improve aspects of functioning that are risk factors for disability among older adults. US public policy should encourage these inexpensive health promotion programs.






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