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Recruiting older adults into a physical activity promotion program: active living every day offered in a naturally occurring retirement community
- Authors:
- HILDEBRAND Mary, NEUFELD Peggy
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 49(5), October 2009, pp.702-710.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Recruitment strategies used to encourage older people living in the naturally occurring retirement community of St. Louis, Missouri, to enrol in the Active Living Every Day (ALED) program were explored in this practice concept paper. The reasons for enrolment or non enrolment of 25 ALED participants and 25 nonparticipants were collated. There was a significant difference between the two groups’ responses to a physical activity state-of-change question. Common themes for participation included motivation to exercise, physical activity ideas from peers, social engagement and trust in the sponsoring organisations’ staff and programs, while cost and schedule issues often resulted in non enrolment. There were no significant differences between the two groups in their demographics, social resources or in their mood/depressive states. The authors conclude that proactive recruitment methods based on the more stage sensitive transtheoretical model (TTM) approach, as used here, produce greater numbers of ALED participants than reactive recruitment methods alone, such as advertising and announcing programs. The importance of a neighbourhood approach and the influence of peers was highlighted.