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The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of physical activity experiences to older women. A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design was used. A purposeful sample of 9 women, age 67 to 83 years old, enrolled in a group physical activity program participated in the study. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, artifact documentation, and descriptive and reflective fieldnotes. The transcripts and significance of the artifacts were analyzed using thematic line-by-line analysis. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis, trading roles, a happier me, and pride and delight. <p>Trading roles refers to the womens perceptions of a new era of their lives given the transition experienced in their life roles. Many of the things they considered stable in their lives changed. Friends dropped away, family moved, they no longer fulfilled the role of wife, and their active grandmothering period was ending. <p>The theme, a happier me, speaks of the impact their involvement in a physical activity program had on their social lives. Living as widowed or single women, they recognized that they could become isolated within their own homes. Engaging in a physical activity program provided a context where they could expand their social network. The interaction with others in a physical activity program brought a sense of happiness and well-being to their days.<p>The theme, pride and delight, captures the deep understanding of their own sense of well-being and took pride in planning and developing the physical activity program. The assumption that more knowledgeable others must plan, implement, and evaluate programs to meet the needs of older adults was challenged by these participants. <p>The meanings of the experiences were interpreted with the support of Weiss (1973) theoretical framework on loneliness. The results of the study highlighted the importance of the contacts made in the physical activity program to the social network of the women, including provisions of attachment, nurturance, and social integration. Physical activity programs for older adults have the potential to expand the social network of older adults and with further research may prove to be an effective intervention for social isolation and ultimately loneliness.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of physical activity experiences to older women. A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design was used. A purposeful sample of 9 women, age 67 to 83 years old, enrolled in a group physical activity program participated in the study. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, artifact documentation, and descriptive and reflective fieldnotes. The transcripts and significance of the artifacts were analyzed using thematic line-by-line analysis. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis, trading roles, a happier me, and pride and delight. <p>Trading roles refers to the womens perceptions of a new era of their lives given the transition experienced in their life roles. Many of the things they considered stable in their lives changed. Friends dropped away, family moved, they no longer fulfilled the role of wife, and their active grandmothering period was ending. <p>The theme, a happier me, speaks of the impact their involvement in a physical activity program had on their social lives. Living as widowed or single women, they recognized that they could become isolated within their own homes. Engaging in a physical activity program provided a context where they could expand their social network. The interaction with others in a physical activity program brought a sense of happiness and well-being to their days.<p>The theme, pride and delight, captures the deep understanding of their own sense of well-being and took pride in planning and developing the physical activity program. The assumption that more knowledgeable others must plan, implement, and evaluate programs to meet the needs of older adults was challenged by these participants. <p>The meanings of the experiences were interpreted with the support of Weiss (1973) theoretical framework on loneliness. The results of the study highlighted the importance of the contacts made in the physical activity program to the social network of the women, including provisions of attachment, nurturance, and social integration. Physical activity programs for older adults have the potential to expand the social network of older adults and with further research may prove to be an effective intervention for social isolation and ultimately loneliness.

<p>Physical inactivity has become a global health concern and is among the 10 leading causes of death and disability. This has led to increased concern for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL).&nbsp / Studies have revealed that regular physical activity is effective in combating several CDL such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and obesity. Physiotherapists are in a&nbsp / position to combat inactivity and effectively promote physical activity to their clients. Studies however have shown that participation in physical activity among physiotherapists could have an&nbsp / impact on the promotion of physical activity and their health practices. This study therefore sought to establish the relationship between physical activity levels of physiotherapists and their&nbsp / physical&nbsp / activity promotion strategies and barriers to promoting physical activity. Sequential Mixed Method Design was used in this study. Data was collected by means of a self administered&nbsp / questionnaire and a total of 92 physiotherapists voluntarily answered the questionnaire. A focus group discussion comprising of 10 purposively selected physiotherapists was conducted. The&nbsp / questionnaire assessed physical activity levels&nbsp / and physical activity promoting strategies of the participants while the focus groupdiscussion looked at the barriers to promoting physical&nbsp / activity. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize demographic information&nbsp / as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics (chi-square) was used to test the associations between different categorical variables (p&lt / 0.05). For the qualitative data, focus group discussions were used to collect data. Tape recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, field notes typed, sorting and arranging data was done and themes&nbsp / &nbsp / were generated. Thematic analysis was then done under the generated themes. Ethical issues pertaining to informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the&nbsp / study were respected in this current study. The findings in the current study revealed that a big number of the participants were physical active both at work and recreation domains. However,&nbsp / there was no statistically significant association between physical activity and the demographicvariables. The results in this study revealed that the majority of participants were good&nbsp / physical activity promoting practices, although there was no significant association between physical activity levels and the physical activity promoting practices. The finding in this study revealed that discussing physical&nbsp / activity and giving out information regarding physical activity to their clients were the most common methods used in promoting physical activity. However, participants also highlighted barriers they&nbsp / ace in promotion of physical activity such as policies on physical activity, cultural influence, nature of work, time management as well as environmental barriers. The study demonstrates the&nbsp / need for all stakeholders to come up with solutions to break the barriers to promotion of physical activity. In return it will bring about enormous health&nbsp / benefits to the general population.</p>

<p>Physical inactivity has become a global health concern and is among the 10 leading causes of death and disability. This has led to increased concern for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL).&nbsp / Studies have revealed that regular physical activity is effective in combating several CDL such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and obesity. Physiotherapists are in a&nbsp / position to combat inactivity and effectively promote physical activity to their clients. Studies however have shown that participation in physical activity among physiotherapists could have an&nbsp / impact on the promotion of physical activity and their health practices. This study therefore sought to establish the relationship between physical activity levels of physiotherapists and their&nbsp / physical&nbsp / activity promotion strategies and barriers to promoting physical activity. Sequential Mixed Method Design was used in this study. Data was collected by means of a self administered&nbsp / questionnaire and a total of 92 physiotherapists voluntarily answered the questionnaire. A focus group discussion comprising of 10 purposively selected physiotherapists was conducted. The&nbsp / questionnaire assessed physical activity levels&nbsp / and physical activity promoting strategies of the participants while the focus groupdiscussion looked at the barriers to promoting physical&nbsp / activity. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize demographic information&nbsp / as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics (chi-square) was used to test the associations between different categorical variables (p&lt / 0.05). For the qualitative data, focus group discussions were used to collect data. Tape recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, field notes typed, sorting and arranging data was done and themes&nbsp / &nbsp / were generated. Thematic analysis was then done under the generated themes. Ethical issues pertaining to informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the&nbsp / study were respected in this current study. The findings in the current study revealed that a big number of the participants were physical active both at work and recreation domains. However,&nbsp / there was no statistically significant association between physical activity and the demographicvariables. The results in this study revealed that the majority of participants were good&nbsp / physical activity promoting practices, although there was no significant association between physical activity levels and the physical activity promoting practices. The finding in this study revealed that discussing physical&nbsp / activity and giving out information regarding physical activity to their clients were the most common methods used in promoting physical activity. However, participants also highlighted barriers they&nbsp / ace in promotion of physical activity such as policies on physical activity, cultural influence, nature of work, time management as well as environmental barriers. The study demonstrates the&nbsp / need for all stakeholders to come up with solutions to break the barriers to promotion of physical activity. In return it will bring about enormous health&nbsp / benefits to the general population.</p>