p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 1 1 0 e1 1 3
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Public Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/puhe
Short Communication
Physical activity information sources and achieving public health guidelines among older adult males S.T. Johnson a,*, D.T. Eurich b, J.K. Vallance a a b
Centre for Nursing and Health Studies, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB T9S-3A3, Canada School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2H9, Canada
article info Article history: Received 27 June 2013
sources and types of PA-related information older adult males receive or obtain; and (2) examine if particular PA information sources are associated with meeting current PA public health guidelines among older adult males.
Received in revised form 1 October 2013 Accepted 8 October 2013 Available online 18 December 2013
Methods Participants
Introduction Despite the well-recognized benefits physical activity (PA) has for physical and mental health, older adult males are not meeting current recommendations.1,2 Enhancing our understanding of the ways in which PA can be best promoted to older adult males is therefore worthy of study. Older adult males are exposed to many forms of PA promotion; however, given that older adult males generally visit health professionals for age-related chronic conditions (e.g., arthritis, diabetes), they likely rely on their health professionals as their primary and trusted source of health information over and above alternative forms of health information. Given the literature around male-specific PA promotion is scant, determining health-related information sources associated with meeting PA guidelines will inform a gap in the literature among this population. With this in mind, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were to: (1) determine the
For this cross-sectional study, older males (55 years) from Alberta, Canada were invited to participate in this study. The authors elected to recruit males 55 years of age since the prevalence of engaging in regular PA behaviour declines with age from approximately one-half of adults aged 55e74 to approximately one-fourth of adults aged 85 and over.2
Design and procedures A detailed description of the recruitment methods and procedures are described elsewehere.3 Briefly, older males were recruited to participate in a survey by placing a series of advertisements in newspapers across the province of Alberta, Canada. Advertisements encouraged males 55 years of age and of all PA levels to participate. Interested individuals were invited to contact study staff by e-mail or telephone. A study package that contained a detailed information letter, questionnaire and business reply envelope (i.e., addressed and postage paid) was sent to all expressing interest. Participants were asked to return the survey in the envelope provided. Approval to conduct this study was granted by the Athabasca
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (S.T. Johnson). 0033-3506/$ e see front matter ª 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.10.002
p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 1 1 0 e1 1 3
University Research Ethics Board. Information collected by survey included: Demographics: Age, marital status, education, annual family income, and employment status as well as internet access to their residence. Health: Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities (see Table 1 for a list of comorbidities assessed), and smoking status were self-reported. Physical activity: To assess PA the leisure score index (LSI) of the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ)4 was included. An independent evaluation of this measure found its degree of reliability and validity compared favourably to nine other self-report measures of PA based on various indices.5
Table 1 e Demographic and health characteristics.a Characteristic Age Marital status Married/common law Divorced/separated Widowed Never married Education Some high school Completed high school Some university/college Completed university/college Some graduate school Completed graduate school Annual family income
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Public Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/puhe
Short Communication
Physical activity information sources and achieving public health guidelines among older adult males S.T. Johnson a,*, D.T. Eurich b, J.K. Vallance a a b
Centre for Nursing and Health Studies, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB T9S-3A3, Canada School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G-2H9, Canada
article info Article history: Received 27 June 2013
sources and types of PA-related information older adult males receive or obtain; and (2) examine if particular PA information sources are associated with meeting current PA public health guidelines among older adult males.
Received in revised form 1 October 2013 Accepted 8 October 2013 Available online 18 December 2013
Methods Participants
Introduction Despite the well-recognized benefits physical activity (PA) has for physical and mental health, older adult males are not meeting current recommendations.1,2 Enhancing our understanding of the ways in which PA can be best promoted to older adult males is therefore worthy of study. Older adult males are exposed to many forms of PA promotion; however, given that older adult males generally visit health professionals for age-related chronic conditions (e.g., arthritis, diabetes), they likely rely on their health professionals as their primary and trusted source of health information over and above alternative forms of health information. Given the literature around male-specific PA promotion is scant, determining health-related information sources associated with meeting PA guidelines will inform a gap in the literature among this population. With this in mind, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were to: (1) determine the
For this cross-sectional study, older males (55 years) from Alberta, Canada were invited to participate in this study. The authors elected to recruit males 55 years of age since the prevalence of engaging in regular PA behaviour declines with age from approximately one-half of adults aged 55e74 to approximately one-fourth of adults aged 85 and over.2
Design and procedures A detailed description of the recruitment methods and procedures are described elsewehere.3 Briefly, older males were recruited to participate in a survey by placing a series of advertisements in newspapers across the province of Alberta, Canada. Advertisements encouraged males 55 years of age and of all PA levels to participate. Interested individuals were invited to contact study staff by e-mail or telephone. A study package that contained a detailed information letter, questionnaire and business reply envelope (i.e., addressed and postage paid) was sent to all expressing interest. Participants were asked to return the survey in the envelope provided. Approval to conduct this study was granted by the Athabasca
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (S.T. Johnson). 0033-3506/$ e see front matter ª 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.10.002
p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 8 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 1 1 0 e1 1 3
University Research Ethics Board. Information collected by survey included: Demographics: Age, marital status, education, annual family income, and employment status as well as internet access to their residence. Health: Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities (see Table 1 for a list of comorbidities assessed), and smoking status were self-reported. Physical activity: To assess PA the leisure score index (LSI) of the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ)4 was included. An independent evaluation of this measure found its degree of reliability and validity compared favourably to nine other self-report measures of PA based on various indices.5
Table 1 e Demographic and health characteristics.a Characteristic Age Marital status Married/common law Divorced/separated Widowed Never married Education Some high school Completed high school Some university/college Completed university/college Some graduate school Completed graduate school Annual family income
