Grant: Operating Grant: Voluntary Sector Knowledge Mobilization Support Grant

Ecological approaches to promoting physical activity in older adults have identi¿ed the importance of interpersonal in¿uences (e.g., family, friends, health providers) (Jones et al., 2018). As such, the purpose of this proposal is to inform and support a primary contact of an older adult’s interpersonal circle (our target audience, health care practitioners), who can, in turn, inform and educate on the bene¿ts of physical activity for healthy aging and install con¿dence in older adults with safe exercise prescription or referral to become and stay physically active. While Canadians are living longer, those extended years can be associated with reduced health and function. However, regular physical activity has been shown to add life to later years and enable successful aging by sustainably limiting the development and progression of chronic disease and disabling conditions. And pertinent to current times, helping older adults age in place and improving immune function. Despite this knowledge, only 12% of older Canadians engage in enough physical activity to get these bene¿ts. Many barriers to being physically active for older adults have been identi¿ed, including lack of knowledge and fear of worsening health conditions. This is not surprising as 89% of older Canadians have at least one chronic condition and after age 80 years it is not uncommon to have 3-4 chronic conditions and be taking multiple medications. That is why health care providers (HCP) have been suggested as opportune agents for physical activity promotion. For example, the physician in the role of exercise counsellor has been shown to be effective in the older adult population. In addition, older adults view such allied-health professionals as the primary source of credible information regarding healthy lifestyle decisions. However, the topic of physical activity is limited in health care school curriculum and thus lack of training in this area can be associated with decreased con¿dence in discussing physical activity. In addition, HCP identify barriers to exercise prescription to include lack of resources and time and lack of effective tools/information to give to patients. As the call to promote physical activity to our aging population grows stronger, it is a reasonable assumption that allied-HCP will more and more be receiving questions on guidance for safe exercise participation. Thus, the objectives of this project are to: • Create a database of allied-health professionals who have a potential role in physical activity counseling in the older adult population. • Create an informed dissemination strategy of physical activity and older adult resources targeting allied-health professionals. • Increase awareness and use of the resources to support the promotion of physical activity to older Canadians.