Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults

Background: Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in preventing diseases and is essential for maintaining physical and mental well-being. Even so, only a few older people regularly participate in PA. Both facilitators and barriers affect physical exercise in older people. Aim: This study aims to...

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Main Authors: Jahanvi Dineshbhai Patel, Megha Sheth, Anjali Jain
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer – Medknow Publications 2024-01-01
Series:Journal of Integrated Health Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jihs.jihs_12_24
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author Jahanvi Dineshbhai Patel
Megha Sheth
Anjali Jain
author_facet Jahanvi Dineshbhai Patel
Megha Sheth
Anjali Jain
author_sort Jahanvi Dineshbhai Patel
collection DOAJ
description Background: Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in preventing diseases and is essential for maintaining physical and mental well-being. Even so, only a few older people regularly participate in PA. Both facilitators and barriers affect physical exercise in older people. Aim: This study aims to find barriers and facilitators of PA in older adults. Materials and Methods: This observational study used face-to-face interviews to gather data from older people (age >60 years) of a community of Ahmedabad. A set of questions was prepared to identify facilitators and barriers to PA in older adults. Data were collected from 150 older people through the convenience sampling method. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics was used. Results: One hundred and fifty participants with a mean age of (67.92 ± 5.95) years participated in the study, including 71 (47.3%) females and 79 (52.7%) males. The results show that the common barriers to PA in older adults are health problems (31.7%), lack of time (30.2%), lack of motivation (46%), and weather (38%). Facilitators are beliefs that PA may prevent health problems (81%), improve health conditions (81%), enjoyment of activity (63.5%), family and friends’ involvement (47.6%), having the opportunity for PA-related support and social interaction with the participants (61.9%), living in a walkable area (60.3%), convenient/nearby PA locations (50.8%), and even walking surfaces (63.5%). Conclusion: Barriers to PA in older people were health problems, a lack of time, a lack of motivation/laziness, a lack of guidance from a professional, weather and environment such as traffic and lack of green areas. Facilitators believed that PA may prevent health problems; having the opportunity for PA-related support and social interaction/participation, living in a walkable area, even walking surfaces, and enjoyment of PA were also facilitators for PA among older adults.
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spelling doaj-art-563fca76435d4b89a945c83e8cae19142025-08-20T02:40:58ZengWolters Kluwer – Medknow PublicationsJournal of Integrated Health Sciences2347-64862347-64942024-01-01121626510.4103/jihs.jihs_12_24Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older AdultsJahanvi Dineshbhai PatelMegha ShethAnjali JainBackground: Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in preventing diseases and is essential for maintaining physical and mental well-being. Even so, only a few older people regularly participate in PA. Both facilitators and barriers affect physical exercise in older people. Aim: This study aims to find barriers and facilitators of PA in older adults. Materials and Methods: This observational study used face-to-face interviews to gather data from older people (age >60 years) of a community of Ahmedabad. A set of questions was prepared to identify facilitators and barriers to PA in older adults. Data were collected from 150 older people through the convenience sampling method. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics was used. Results: One hundred and fifty participants with a mean age of (67.92 ± 5.95) years participated in the study, including 71 (47.3%) females and 79 (52.7%) males. The results show that the common barriers to PA in older adults are health problems (31.7%), lack of time (30.2%), lack of motivation (46%), and weather (38%). Facilitators are beliefs that PA may prevent health problems (81%), improve health conditions (81%), enjoyment of activity (63.5%), family and friends’ involvement (47.6%), having the opportunity for PA-related support and social interaction with the participants (61.9%), living in a walkable area (60.3%), convenient/nearby PA locations (50.8%), and even walking surfaces (63.5%). Conclusion: Barriers to PA in older people were health problems, a lack of time, a lack of motivation/laziness, a lack of guidance from a professional, weather and environment such as traffic and lack of green areas. Facilitators believed that PA may prevent health problems; having the opportunity for PA-related support and social interaction/participation, living in a walkable area, even walking surfaces, and enjoyment of PA were also facilitators for PA among older adults.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jihs.jihs_12_24barriersfacilitatorsolder adultsphysical activity
spellingShingle Jahanvi Dineshbhai Patel
Megha Sheth
Anjali Jain
Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults
Journal of Integrated Health Sciences
barriers
facilitators
older adults
physical activity
title Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults
title_full Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults
title_fullStr Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults
title_full_unstemmed Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults
title_short Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Older Adults
title_sort barriers and facilitators for physical activity in older adults
topic barriers
facilitators
older adults
physical activity
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jihs.jihs_12_24
work_keys_str_mv AT jahanvidineshbhaipatel barriersandfacilitatorsforphysicalactivityinolderadults
AT meghasheth barriersandfacilitatorsforphysicalactivityinolderadults
AT anjalijain barriersandfacilitatorsforphysicalactivityinolderadults