PHYSICAL LITERACY: A MODEL TO ENGAGE AND SUPPORT OLDER ADULTS IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SPORT

Abstract

score] were randomized into a 16 week, twice-weekly dance intervention or to a wait-list control group; the wait-list control group crossed over at week 17 and received the dance intervention. Participants were given a GT3X+ accelerom-eter to wear over their non-dominant wrist and an ActivPAL inclinometer on their non-dominant thigh for 7 days. The Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) was administered. Physical literacy (PL) is a promising strategy to increase physical activity and sport participation across the lifespan. This presentation outlines the developmental process of creating a PL model for older adults, by an expert team of multidisciplinary academics, non-profit organizations and user groups. The process began with an iterative consensus development process which identified the use of the adopted International Physical Literacy Association within an ecological model approach, reflecting a full range of key characteristics proposed to influence physical literacy in older adults. The model is anchored with the individual (intrapersonal factors) and depicted to have influences from inter-personal, organizational, community, and policy factors. Broader consensus for the PL model was reached using an online Delphi survey. An international group of multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral Delphi participants who encapsulate the scope of the proposed physical literacy model were invited to participate. Twenty-nine Delphi invitees participated in the first round of the survey with significant consensus being reached for each of the elements of our model (i.e., % responding agree, somewhat agree, or strongly agree). Open-ended feedback from Round 1 was discussed by the expert team and a modified model was distributed in Round 2 of the survey. Twenty-three out of the original 29 respondents completed the second round (79%) and a significant consensus was again achieved. Next steps include determining methods to assess physical literacy in older adults and dissemination of the model. Background: An important dimension of physical activity (PA) behavior is the temporal pattern reflecting how movement features, postures and activities are interwoven in daily life. This pattern reflects a subject's ability to timely respond to environmental demands and adapt to internal states (physiological, mental). Beyond traditional measures such as accumulated activity levels, the focus is therefore on dynamic complexity of PA patterns, quantified in terms of diversity and moment-to-moment variations of activities/movement features. We hypothesized that higher complexity levels would indicate better functioning, (i.e., ability to perform a wide range of movements/actions and to timely respond to environmental demands) and, inversely, that lower complexity levels would indicate worse function, resulting from frailty, fear of falling, or previous falling experience. Methods: 70 older persons, aged 65-95 years, were monitored over two days using an accelerometer fixed on the chest. PA patterns were sequences of various bouts (locomo-tion, sedentary, active) characterized by timing, duration and movement intensity (cadence, trunk acceleration). Embedded complexity was quantified with dynamic entropy measures. Frailty condition, fear of falling, fall history and clinical/ demographic covariates were assessed for each participant. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that severity of frailty condition, low fall self-efficacy scores and fall history were significantly (p<0.05) associated with lower complexity levels. Between-group comparisons revealed that fall self-efficacy has much stronger impact on pattern complexity (p=0.006, Cohen's d=0.94) than on accumulated locomotion time (p=0.9., Cohen's d=0.05). Conclusions: Complexity of physical activity provides new insight on health, functional status, and mobility, as well as on their intertwined relationships. Background: AFFINITY, a population health improvement project, is implementing a national strategy on the prevention of harmful falls and fractures in older persons. AFFINITY is also a commitment within a pan European programme on active and healthy ageing that aims to increase the average healthy lifespan of citizens by 2 years by 2020. Methods: AFFINITY has adopted a whole system and multi-stakeholder collaborative approach. Key implementation elements: empowering citizen self-management, robust governance, integrated service delivery model and change management supports. AFFINITY is a joint project of the national service provider and its indemnifier. AFFINITY is