Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, Division of Psychology & Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 23;18(4):2172. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18042172.
Physical activity has numerous health and well-being benefits for older adults, but many older adults are inactive. Interventions designed to increase physical activity in older adults have typically only produced small effects and have not achieved long-term changes. There is increasing interest in participatory approaches to promoting physical activity, such as co-production, co-design and place-based approaches, but they have typically involved researchers as participants. This study aimed to understand the experiences of decision-makers and service developers with the introduction of such participatory approaches when developing new physical activity programmes outside of a research setting.
Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 individuals who were involved in commissioning or developing the Greater Manchester Active Ageing Programme. This programme involved funding eight local authorities within Greater Manchester, England, to produce physical activity projects for older adults, involving participatory approaches. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted, structured using the Framework approach.
Interviewees identified important benefits of the participatory approaches. The increased involvement of older adults led to older adults contributing valuable ideas, becoming involved in and taking ownership of projects. Interviewees identified the need to move away from traditional emphases on increasing physical activity to improve health, towards focussing on social and fun elements. The accessibility of the session location and information was considered important. Challenges were also identified. In particular, it was recognised that the new approaches require significant time investment to do well, as trusting relationships with older adults and partner organisations need to be developed. Ensuring the sustainability of projects in the context of short-term funding cycles was a concern.
Incorporating participatory approaches was perceived to yield important benefits. Interviewees highlighted that to ensure success, sufficient time needs to be provided to develop good working relationships with older adults and partner organisations. They also emphasised that sufficient funding to ensure adequate staffing and the sustainability of projects is required to allow benefits to be gained. Importantly, the implementation of these approaches appears feasible across a range of local authorities.
体力活动对老年人的健康和福祉有诸多益处，但许多老年人不活跃。旨在增加老年人体力活动的干预措施通常只产生较小的效果，并且没有实现长期的变化。越来越多的人对促进体力活动的参与式方法感兴趣，例如共同生产、共同设计和基于地点的方法，但这些方法通常涉及作为参与者的研究人员。本研究旨在了解决策者和服务开发者在研究环境之外开发新的体力活动计划时引入此类参与式方法的经验。
对参与英格兰大曼彻斯特地区Greater Manchester Active Ageing 计划委托或开发的 20 名个人进行了半结构化的定性访谈。该计划涉及资助大曼彻斯特地区的八个地方当局，为老年人开展涉及参与式方法的体力活动项目。采用归纳主题分析，使用框架方法进行结构化。
受访者确定了参与式方法的重要益处。老年人更多的参与导致老年人提出有价值的想法，参与并对项目拥有所有权。受访者认识到需要从以提高健康为重点的传统重点转移到关注社会和乐趣因素，而不是单纯关注增加体力活动。会议地点和信息的可及性被认为很重要。还确定了挑战。特别是，人们认识到新方法需要大量的时间投入才能做好，因为需要与老年人和合作伙伴组织建立信任关系。在短期资金周期的背景下确保项目的可持续性是一个关注点。
采用参与式方法被认为会带来重要的好处。受访者强调，为了确保成功，需要提供足够的时间与老年人和合作伙伴组织建立良好的工作关系。他们还强调，需要有足够的资金来确保充足的人员配备和项目的可持续性，以从中受益。重要的是，这些方法的实施似乎在一系列地方当局中是可行的。
