Older adults in care facilities often have complex health issues such as chronic diseases and physical and cognitive impairments, which limits their ability to perform activity of daily living (ADL). Limited ADLs are strongly linked to mobility disability, which can further increase older adults’ fall risk and their dependence on others.Although physical activity programs can preserve the functional capacity and reduce the likelihood of falls for older adults in care facilities, participation in physical activity programs is usually low and older adults are generally inactive, with about 90% of awake time in sedentary behaviour. Low participation may be because most programs are too generic and do not consider including elements to engage older adults who have a wide range of physical and cognitive impairments.

Through the implementation of choice-based physical activity programs, older adults in care facilities are able to attend programs that meet their interest, suit their function capacity, and benefit their mobility. They will have better quality of life. Meanwhile, the care facilities will improve quality of care, as our decision-making tool will guide them to choose suitable programs for their residents. The care facilities will decrease health care costs with reduced fall incidence. Furthermore, fitness trainers will be able to deliver customized physical activity programs to older adults using our decision making tool, which can improve their work efficiency.

80 older adults 40 care givers in care facilities 20 fitness instructors8 care facilities

2021

Active Ageing, Well-being