Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

To enhance human services practice for older adults, it remains incumbent upon professionals to acknowledge the presence of and act upon activity barriers encountered along the aging continuum. American older adults (OA) shouldering activity barriers may face serious quality of life issues resulting in minimal health equity opportunity. Compounding this predicament are socio-environment issues which accompany aging and are associated with the current OA 88% inactivity rate. This research investigated what OA activity barriers were present in two segments of that population: national-level senior athletes versus non-athletes who attended health promotion workshops. Given the estimate of 200m OA (65 years of age and older) by the year 2060, spanning three distinct generations, each possessing unique generational profiles, the questions of access, availability, and affordability of human services are exigent. The methodology piloted a cross-sectional data collection approach with national-level senior athletes who anonymously and voluntarily completed a demographic questionnaire and the “Barriers to Being Active Survey”. Results from these athletes were compared to results obtained with the general non-athlete population. The results indicate a distinct difference in the identification of and the reporting of activity barriers in the general older adult population sample as compared to a national-level senior athlete sample. This research corroborates both the need for proactive planning and complete understanding of these barriers’ impacts on society by decision makers and those working with older adults.