Motivational factors and physician advice for physical activity in older urban adults.
This study aimed to ascertain by means of a new scale older adults' motives for engaging in physical activity, in a probability and representative sample of an older urban population. The sample size was 630 older adults, ranging from 65 to 94 years in age, randomly selected using multistage sampling. The participants completed a 17-item questionnaire, as well as answering questions on demographic variables, type of demand for physical activity, and physician's recommendation. A principal-component analysis was performed. The relationships among the four factors (physical health, social relationships, competence, and physician's advice) show a clearly motivational structure. Significant relationships have also been found between physician's recommendation and type of demand. The findings suggest that programs promoting physical activity in older adults should have different characteristics from those aimed at general adult populations.
Jiménez-Beatty Navarro
José Emelio
JE
Faculty of Medicine, Alacalá University, Madrid, Spain.
Graupera Sanz
José Luis
JL
del Castillo
Jesus Martínez
JM
Izquierdo
Antonio Campos
AC
Rodríguez
María Martín
MM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011581:Psychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013030:Spain; D014505:Urban Population