Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #106004

Rachel B. Seymour, MS, Susan L. Hughes, DSW, and Karumah Cosey, BS. School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Room 558(MC 275), Chicago, IL 60608, 312-413-9834, rseymo1@uic.edu

The University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) in collaboration with the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and the Healthy Aging Research Network (HAN) with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) is conducting an impact study of three best practices physical activity programs for older adults. After completing a national competition to identify best practice physical activity programs for older adults in 2003 and presenting awards to 10 Best Practice sites, three programs were selected to participate in the impact study. Key factors involved in selecting these sites included: presence of a strong multicomponent program and capacity to enroll 250 new participants per site. To date, 630 individuals have been enrolled in the impact study across the three sites. Strategies to increase recruitment of minority and vulnerable populations varied across the sites, as did the success of these strategies. Currently minorities represent 19.2% of the enrolled sample, ranging across sites from 5.6% to 21.6%. The site with the lowest minority representation has a largely rural population, a vulnerable group with limited access to health promotion programs. The most successful strategies across sites are postings in widely distributed site-sponsored newsletters and calendars, flyers posted in senior centers and other community-based locations, and media exposure such as newspaper, radio, and cable television. Attendance is being monitored at each exercise site, information on dropouts is being monitored and analyzed and will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: