Grant: Team Grant: Boys' and Men's Health - General

Our project title 'Shape the Path' refers to efforts to pave the way for older men to maintain mobility in a range of ways (personal, social, health settings, physical environment). Shape the Path aims to lessen the substantial burden of mobility-disability in older men. To do so we will examine factors (e.g. ethnicity, gender, environment, socioeconomic status) that influence older men's ability to 'go where they want to go, when they want to go there, and how they want to get there'. If one considers mobility as a 'capacity' then it facilitates older men's independence and their quality of life. We will assess capacity in a number of ways based on what men can actually do ( 'enacted capacity') and what they think they can do ('perceived capacity') across 3 distinct settings: community, home care and residential care. These settings represent different levels of mobility. We will use a variety of research methods to develop an in-depth understanding of men's experiences and other factors related to participation in physical activity as this is closely linked with their mobility. We will combine those new understandings with existing knowledge to intervene with a novel program that promotes (i) physical activity in community-dwelling older men. Next, we will determine the mobility characteristics of older men who receive home care support and intervene with a model that aims to enhance men's capacity (called re(ablement)) in home care. Finally, we will identify the mobility limitations of frail older men in residential care using novel sensor and video technology. This will be the basis for new strategies for promoting safe mobility for men in residential care. Importantly, we work closely with committed community stakeholders who guide the questions we ask. Together we deliver our findings back out to those who might benefit the most from what we learned, through dissemination of relevant programs, practices and policies.