 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Susan L. Hughes, DSW, Lourdes C. Molina, MPH, Thomas R. Prohaska, PhD, and Ella Fermin. Center for Research on Health and Aging, University of Illinois at Chicago, 850 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60607
Although exercise in known to be safe and beneficial for older adults, substantial numbers of seniors continue to lead sedentary lifestyles. At least one known barrier to exercise participation is lack of knowledge about available resources. The Senior Health Alliance Promoting Exercise (SHAPE) is a volunteer consortium of Chicago-based government, education, research, non-profit, and health care organizations dedicated to improving the well-being of older adults in the metropolitan Chicago area. SHAPE has identified three initiatives to promote physical fitness among Chicago seniors. One is an inventory of exercise programs for older adults. Findings from our first SHAPE survey of 939 programs in Cook County found that existing physical activity programs for older adults met about 4% of the potential demand. The SHAPE survey is now being replicated in Chicago and in six other communities across the U.S. through CDC’s Healthy Research Aging Network (HAN), a subset of the nation’s Prevention Research Centers. Both the development and findings from the initial SHAPE survey and the design, methods, and results of the follow up multi-site HAN survey will be discussed along with implications for future research and program development.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.