Lourdes C. Molina, MPH¹, Susan L. Hughes, DSW¹, Lucinda Bryant, PhD², Rebecca Hunter, MEd³, Bridget E. Kane⁴, Melissa Kealey⁵, Jane S. Schall⁶, and Ken W. Watkins, PhD⁷. (1) Center for Research on Health and Aging, University of Illinois at Chicago, 850 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60607, 312-355-3173, lmolin2@uic.edu, (2) Division of Health Care Policy and Research, University of Colorado, Denver, CO 80202, (3) UNC-CH School of Medicine, University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, (4) Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, (5) Center for Family & Community Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, (6) Center for Healthy Aging, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, (7) Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC 29208

Participation in sustained physical activity (PA) is one of the most important health promotion strategies for healthy aging. Important barriers to PA include lack of user knowledge about available resources and limited capacity of organizations to provide PA programs that meet the needs of older adults. The Healthy Aging Network (HAN), developed by CDC and a subset of the nation’s Prevention Research Centers, administered a survey of PA programs for older adults in seven communities across the U.S. to compare the supply of programs with potential demand. Based on an earlier Chicago survey of providers in Cook County, the HAN survey targeted 2,110 programs in diverse rural and urban communities in order to estimate PA program capacity. We had an overall response rate of 77% and collected detailed information on 2,386 programs across the HAN catchment areas. Overall, aerobic programs were offered most frequently (73%), followed by flexibility (47%) and strength training (26%). Four types of facilities offered 90% of available programs (commercial gyms/YMCAs, senior centers, park/recreation centers, and senior housing facilities). Of the facilities that did not offer programs, 50% identified the most common reason as a perceived lack of interest from older adults. Based on our most conservative estimates of demand, the number of PA programs would have to double or triple to meet the needs of this group, assuming that we can motivate them to become involved. Methodological issues encountered in developing and implementing a multi-site include the development of unique sampling frames and the adaptability of the instrument to various methods of data collection.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to (1)assess the importance of documenting the supply of physical activity programs for older adults compared to the demand for them, (2)understand what types of physical activity programming for older adults are most commonly provided and by which type of facilities, (
• understand the issues involved in a multi-site national survey utilizing several data collection methods.

Keywords: Physical Activity, Exercise

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.