Motivators and barriers for physcial activity at higher age

This PhD dissertation focuses on factors influencing the engagement of older adults - with or without additional diseases - in physical activity (PA) and the organization of PA for older adults in nursing homes (NH). In a systematic review on motivators and barriers (paper 1) for PA for adults aged 80 and over, a large variety of reasons why people at higher age stop or start to be physically active are described. The systematic review included 44 articles, involved 28583 subjects and yielded 61 motivators and 59 barriers for older adults. Intrapersonal motivators and barriers were well represented. A qualitative study (paper 2) provides an overview of potential facilitators and constraints for PA for older adults diagnosed with osteoporosis (OP), according to the patients themselves and professionals. Social contact, habit and feeling good were - among others - factors reported as motivators. Pain, fear of falling, bad weather and lack of interest were barriers to PA. Papers 3, 4 and 5 describe the results of 3 studies investigating motivators and barriers for the organization of PA in Flemish NH according to physiotherapists, occupational therapists and their administrators. A secondary goal was to examine the knowledge of the WHO guidelines regarding PA and to reveal potential motivators and barriers for the implementation of the guidelines. The strongest motivators were improving the residents’ physical and psychological wellbeing. The participants were aware of the negative consequences for the general wellbeing of the older residents who are not physically active. The knowledge of the WHO guidelines was rather poor. Although the participants are convinced that the guidelines are useful, they believe the implementation of the guidelines is unrealistic. The identification of existing barriers and motivators for organizing PA according to NH staff creates substantial opportunities to enhance the level of PA in NH.