Improving rates of physical activity among older adults with arthritis through policies and environmental strategies

Arthritis, the nation's most common cause of disability, affects 50% of persons aged 65 or older. Physical activity is beneficial for the prevention and management of many chronic diseases and for persons with arthritis (PWA) the benefits include: reduced pain, delayed disability, and improved function and quality of life. Despite these benefits, research shows that PWA are significantly less active than their peers without arthritis and arthritis can be a barrier to increasing physical activity among persons with multiple chronic conditions. To address a physical activity policy gap and potentially increase the percent of PWA who are physically active, the CDC Arthritis Program and the Arthritis Foundation initiated a workgroup and engaged experts to identify and prioritize policies and environmental strategies for increasing physical activity among PWA. This process includes a systematic literature review, a search of organization policies, and gathering input from experts, and has produced both a white paper examining facilitators and barriers to physical activity and a series of policy recommendations and environmental strategies specific to adults with arthritis for various settings ranging from public health and aging to health care. Experts (20 for an electronic review and 16 for an in person meeting) were identified by the workgroup, in areas such as physical activity and aging, to revise the white paper and finalize the list of arthritis-specific recommendations. This presentation will discuss the methods and outcomes of this review process, as well as the newly released recommendations and how they benefit older adults with arthritis.