Grant: Project Grant

In Canada, the proportion of older adults is expected to surpass the proportion of children under age 15 as early as 2017 and will exceed 30% by the year 2050. Physical activity (PA) enhances mental and physical health and decreases prevalence of chronic disease in older adults. Still, older adults are among the most sedentary Canadians - 85% fail to meet PA guidelines. This reality is a call to action. To answer this call we partnered with the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Health and community partners to co-create a novel physical activity intervention (Choose to Move (CTM)) and to assess the most effective way to implement CTM in the community. For CTM, activity coaches provide older adults one-on-one assistance to develop action plans for PA, opportunities to connect with other participants and motivation and support to sustain their PA program. After our pilot testing, we are now ready to begin the MOH-funded implementation of CTM across BC. This provides a unique opportunity to conduct research into program effectiveness and factors that influence implementation. Therefore our overall research goals are to assess: 1) whether CTM increases PA and increases social connectedness of older adults (Part 1 - Impact evaluation), and 2) factors that help or hinder implementation of CTM across BC (Part 2 - Implementation evaluation). To achieve these goals we will implement CTM in BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) facilities (rec centres) and YMCA locations across BC (1620 participants). We build upon a history of collaboration among a core team of junior and more senior health researchers who have expertise working with older adults, physical activity and translating research findings into action. Our team is also strengthened by established partnerships with BCRPA, YMCA and United Way of the Lower Mainland who have capacity to sustain and extend the reach of this project and our findings across BC and Canada.