Service Research Center (CTF), Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden.
Department of Political, Historical, Religious and Cultural Studies, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden.
BMC Geriatr. 2024 Sep 18;24(1):768. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05362-x.
Older adults are insufficiently physically active, despite its importance for healthy aging. To develop appropriate physical activity interventions, it is necessary to understand their physical activity. This study applies a theoretical perspective, the COM-B model, and a mixed-method design to examine what influences older adults' physical activity levels with three questions: (1) What individual and external factors predict older adults' physical activity levels? (2) What do older adults perceive as influencing their levels of physical activity? (3) To what extent do the quantitative results on older adults' physical activity levels agree and disagree with the qualitative findings on older adults' physical activity levels?
A convergent mixed-method design was used with questionnaire (n = 334) and interview (n = 14) data from adults 65 years and older. Regression analyses were used for quantitative measurements: physical activity, age, subjective socioeconomic status, health status, capability, opportunity, motivation, and depression. Content analysis was applied to the qualitative data. The two forms of data were then integrated to provide greater insights than would be obtained by either dataset separately.
The regression analyses showed that previous physical activity, current motivation, health status, and age significantly predicted older adults' physical activity levels. The content analysis revealed that participants addressed all subcomponents of the COM-B model, indicating its pertinence in understanding how older adults discuss their current physical activity levels. The integrated findings showed convergent and divergent results. Overall results indicated that previous physical activity engagement, present motivation, capability, and opportunity influenced older adults' physical activity levels.
This study is the first to use this mixed-methods design to examine factors influencing physical activity levels among older adults living in rental apartments with community hosts. The integrated result reveals convergence for findings on motivation and physical capability but divergence on psychological capability, opportunity, and previous physical activity. The findings underscore a complex interplay of factors influencing older adults' physical activity levels and indicate relevance for the COM-B model. The results can guide future research on theoretically informed interventions to promote physical activity and healthy aging. Future research should clarify the role of opportunity for older adults' physical activity.
尽管身体活动对健康老龄化至关重要，但老年人的身体活动量仍不足。为了制定适当的身体活动干预措施，有必要了解他们的身体活动情况。本研究应用理论视角（COM-B 模型）和混合方法设计，通过三个问题来研究哪些因素会影响老年人的身体活动水平：（1）哪些个体和外部因素预测老年人的身体活动水平？（2）老年人认为哪些因素会影响他们的身体活动水平？（3）老年人身体活动水平的定量结果在多大程度上与定性结果一致和不一致？
采用问卷调查（n=334）和访谈（n=14）相结合的收敛混合方法设计，对 65 岁及以上的成年人进行研究。回归分析用于对身体活动、年龄、主观社会经济地位、健康状况、能力、机会、动机和抑郁等定量测量进行分析。内容分析应用于定性数据。然后将两种形式的数据整合起来，以提供比单独使用任何一种数据集更深入的见解。
回归分析表明，以前的身体活动、当前的动机、健康状况和年龄显著预测了老年人的身体活动水平。内容分析显示，参与者讨论了 COM-B 模型的所有子成分，表明该模型在理解老年人如何讨论他们当前的身体活动水平方面具有相关性。综合结果显示出一致性和分歧性的结果。总体结果表明，以前的身体活动参与、当前的动机、能力和机会影响了老年人的身体活动水平。
本研究首次使用这种混合方法设计来研究居住在有社区主持人的出租公寓中的老年人的身体活动水平的影响因素。综合结果显示，动机和身体能力方面的发现存在一致性，但在心理能力、机会和以前的身体活动方面存在分歧。研究结果强调了影响老年人身体活动水平的因素的复杂相互作用，并表明了 COM-B 模型的相关性。研究结果可以为促进身体活动和健康老龄化的理论驱动干预措施的未来研究提供参考。未来的研究应该阐明机会在老年人身体活动中的作用。
