Increasing Physical Activity Intent in the 50 and Older Population

Abstract

Background: Older adults are living longer, developing more physical disabilities, and are spending a significant amount of money on chronic preventable conditions. Applying a moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) regimen of at least 150 minutes a week can prevent certain chronic conditions, improve or prevent declining physical abilities, and lead the older adult to live a more satisfying life. Implementing a new regimen is difficult, and practitioners can assist by providing older adults education regarding the benefits of physical activity, national recommendation of PA for the older adult, and resources for application of PA in the home and community. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used as a guide to identify the common variables of human behaviors, which can be altered to create positive health outcomes for an individual. Objective: The purpose of this DNP project was to increase the intent of the older adult individuals at the Abundant Health Family Practice to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moderate intensity PA recommendations of 150 minutes per week, through the theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model and educational interventions. Design: Two-group post-test quality improvement project Setting: Abundant Health Family Practice. October 1, 2019 – October 8, 2019. Participants: Older adults over the age of 50 who had a preexisting scheduled primary care appointment. Measurements: Participants were surveyed after their primary care scheduled appointment. General background, demographic data, and data-on participants current PA practices and future PA practices was collected. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings: There were 20 participants who started and completed the post-survey. Ten were included in the standard appointment group and 10 were a part of the PA education group. The demographics were similarly distributed between both groups. The PA education group had 20% higher scores on the Likert scale when asked if they intended to increase weekly PA. The average mean answer was also higher in the PA group when the participant was asked about belief on importance of exercise, barrier to benefits, and self-efficacy.