Too many elderly women suffer rapid aging decline, frailty and hypokinetic disease simply because of inadequate levels of physical activity. While the biopsychosocial benefits of regular exercise are now well-known, explanations are lacking for the reluctance of aging Canadian females to take up, or keep up, healthful forms of leisure-time physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine and explain the variability of participation in health-promoting form sof exercise in elderly women. Several health behavior theories and personal attributes have shown promise in explaining exercise behavior, and thus, a second purpose of the study was to test the utility of a composite theoretical model. The composite model included ten personal and situational attributes as well as five cognitive beliefs about physical activity adapted from Social Cognitive Theory and a belief about personal control over one's health from Health Locus of Control Theory. A city-wide sample of 327 Vancouver women aged 70 and 98 years filled out survey questionnaires providing information on the 16 model variables in addition to kilocalorie estimates of exercise in the past week. Multiple regression analysis was used to explain late life exercise in three stages: 1) regression on the ten personal and situational attributes; 2) regression on the six cognitive beliefs; and 3) combined regression on all the significant predictors. From the life situational variables, health, childhood movement confidence, school location, and age were significant factors explaining 18% of the variability seen in current exercise level. From the cognitive variables, current self-efficacy to exercise and current social support to engage in physical activity were the only significant predictors (R2 = 22%). A full regression model was tested by including the four statistically important situational variables and the two cognitive variables from the previous analyses. The utility of the Composite Model was supported in that both situational variables and self-referent beliefs played significant and independent roles in explaining late life exercise (R2 = 26%). The main reasons that older women were physically active were: 1) they perceived high levels of social support to exercise (b = .239, p< .01); 2) they felt efficacious for fitness-types of activities (b = .185, p< .01), 3) they had satisfactory health (b = .174, p < .01), and 4) they were educated in foreign countries (b = -.125, p < .01). Health locus of control offered some explanation but was not able to demonstrate significance alongside other cognitive beliefs (b = -.106, p < .06). Education, socioeconomic status, work role, family size, and marital status were not able to explain late life exercise. This study found that health difficulties do indeed interfere with women’s activity patterns. However, women are also influenced by perceptions of declining social support, lower levels of movement confidence, and chronological age, to reduce their physical activity. Thus, regardless of their health situation, the explanation of exercise involvement in older women rests to a large degree on the amount of social encouragement they perceive from family, friends and physicians, their self-efficacy for fitness activity, as well as perceptions of age-appropriate behavior. Older women who were educated as children outside of Canada, Britain and the U.S. appear to be culturally advantaged for late life physical activity participation. Moreover, childhood movement confidence stands as a significant predictor among the situational variables. These findings suggest that participation in physical activity, and positive beliefs about exercise in late oo, are rooted in competencies and experiences acquired in childhood. Perceptions of inadequate encouragement appear to be limiting females, from childhood on, to develop and sustain confidence in their physical abilities that would promote a more active lifestyle into their oldest life stage.

Health, housing and much more recently, assistive technology, are key determinants of elderly independence in British Columbia. This thesis discusses these three determinants in some detail, and also stresses their interrelationship with each other. Throughout the entire thesis, the elderly's preference to age-in-place (Blackie, 1986; Wheeler, 1982) is stressed. In the issue of health, the current community-based health care delivery system of the British Columbia Ministry of Health's Continuing Care Division is compared and contrasted with a "counterpart" in the United States: the On Lok Health Services System in San Francisco, California. On Lok is discussed to highlight its effectiveness in delivering a community-based holistic health care system for a group of aging-in-place elderly in need of long term care with relatively low cost. In the issue of housing, the thesis investigates three avenues in which architects can apply their skills to maximize aging-in-place possibilities for our elderly in the context of British Columbia. Constraints by building codes, health care regulations, real estate market expectations and the aging characteristics of British Columbia's elderly are also highlighted to bring context to the discussion. In the issue of assistive technology, given the huge range of product development, the thesis focuses on one particularly interesting communication device - the Videophone. The Videophone is discussed to explore its potential impact for elderly independence, especially for the future.

Too many elderly women suffer rapid aging decline, frailty and hypokinetic disease simply because of inadequate levels of physical activity. While the biopsychosocial benefits of regular exercise are now well-known, explanations are lacking for the reluctance of aging Canadian females to take up, or keep up, healthful forms of leisure-time physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine and explain the variability of participation in health-promoting form sof exercise in elderly women. Several health behavior theories and personal attributes have shown promise in explaining exercise behavior, and thus, a second purpose of the study was to test the utility of a composite theoretical model. The composite model included ten personal and situational attributes as well as five cognitive beliefs about physical activity adapted from Social Cognitive Theory and a belief about personal control over one's health from Health Locus of Control Theory. A city-wide sample of 327 Vancouver women aged 70 and 98 years filled out survey questionnaires providing information on the 16 model variables in addition to kilocalorie estimates of exercise in the past week. Multiple regression analysis was used to explain late life exercise in three stages: 1) regression on the ten personal and situational attributes; 2) regression on the six cognitive beliefs; and 3) combined regression on all the significant predictors. From the life situational variables, health, childhood movement confidence, school location, and age were significant factors explaining 18% of the variability seen in current exercise level. From the cognitive variables, current self-efficacy to exercise and current social support to engage in physical activity were the only significant predictors (R2 = 22%). A full regression model was tested by including the four statistically important situational variables and the two cognitive variables from the previous analyses. The utility of the Composite Model was supported in that both situational variables and self-referent beliefs played significant and independent roles in explaining late life exercise (R2 = 26%). The main reasons that older women were physically active were: 1) they perceived high levels of social support to exercise (b = .239, p< .01); 2) they felt efficacious for fitness-types of activities (b = .185, p< .01), 3) they had satisfactory health (b = .174, p < .01), and 4) they were educated in foreign countries (b = -.125, p < .01). Health locus of control offered some explanation but was not able to demonstrate significance alongside other cognitive beliefs (b = -.106, p < .06). Education, socioeconomic status, work role, family size, and marital status were not able to explain late life exercise. This study found that health difficulties do indeed interfere with women’s activity patterns. However, women are also influenced by perceptions of declining social support, lower levels of movement confidence, and chronological age, to reduce their physical activity. Thus, regardless of their health situation, the explanation of exercise involvement in older women rests to a large degree on the amount of social encouragement they perceive from family, friends and physicians, their self-efficacy for fitness activity, as well as perceptions of age-appropriate behavior. Older women who were educated as children outside of Canada, Britain and the U.S. appear to be culturally advantaged for late life physical activity participation. Moreover, childhood movement confidence stands as a significant predictor among the situational variables. These findings suggest that participation in physical activity, and positive beliefs about exercise in late oo, are rooted in competencies and experiences acquired in childhood. Perceptions of inadequate encouragement appear to be limiting females, from childhood on, to develop and sustain confidence in their physical abilities that would promote a more active lifestyle into their oldest life stage. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Health, housing and much more recently, assistive technology, are key determinants of elderly independence in British Columbia. This thesis discusses these three determinants in some detail, and also stresses their interrelationship with each other. Throughout the entire thesis, the elderly's preference to age-in-place (Blackie, 1986; Wheeler, 1982) is stressed. In the issue of health, the current community-based health care delivery system of the British Columbia Ministry of Health's Continuing Care Division is compared and contrasted with a "counterpart" in the United States: the On Lok Health Services System in San Francisco, California. On Lok is discussed to highlight its effectiveness in delivering a community-based holistic health care system for a group of aging-in-place elderly in need of long term care with relatively low cost. In the issue of housing, the thesis investigates three avenues in which architects can apply their skills to maximize aging-in-place possibilities for our elderly in the context of British Columbia. Constraints by building codes, health care regulations, real estate market expectations and the aging characteristics of British Columbia's elderly are also highlighted to bring context to the discussion. In the issue of assistive technology, given the huge range of product development, the thesis focuses on one particularly interesting communication device - the Videophone. The Videophone is discussed to explore its potential impact for elderly independence, especially for the future. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate