Academia da Melhor Idade: motivos para ingresso, permanência e satisfação dos idosos participantes

Abstract

Fitness facilities are being implemented in many public parks and older adults have benefited from the promotion of exercise at these sites. The objective of this study was to describe the perception of older adults participating in the Golden Age Gym program (Programa Academia da Melhor Idade-AMI) in the city of Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil, in terms of the reasons to enter and remain in this program, satisfaction, and suggestions regarding the services provided. A total of 163 older adults (117 women and 46 men) participating in 15 AMIs installed in public places in Joinville were interviewed. Data were collected by semi-structured interview. Descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis were used for quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Intrinsic motivation was the predominant factor for the entry and permanence of older adults in the AMIs, particularly the pursuit of health (entry) and perceived benefits of exercise (permanence). The encouragement of others was the main extrinsic motivational factor for entry and socialization was the main reason to remain in the AMIs. The participants were satisfied with the service provided and with the infrastructure, but suggest improvements such as an increase in the number of fitness activities, training of instructors, installation of public restrooms, drinking fountains, and covered facilities. It was concluded that older people mainly present intrinsic motivations to enter and remain in the AMIs. The majority older adults is satisfied, but recommend improvement of human resources and infrastructure that would permit the implementation of new strategies designed to promote exercise in public places and to attend a larger number of users.

Free exercise programs for the elderly: a systematic review on adherence and abandonment

“…The Center for Disease Control and Prevention 30 corroborates the ACSM's recommendations and indicates that elderly people should, unless they have any physical limitations, do 150 minutes of moderate aerobic and strength training activities for the main muscle groups, with a frequency of two or more times a week. They also give the possibility of doing 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity instead of 150 minutes of moderate activity 30 ; something which is only followed by part of the analyzed programs, more specifically by the four that offer physical exercise at least three times a week 22,24,26,28 .…”

“…The most frequently mentioned reasons for entering the programs that were investigated by these studies has to do with health, such as medical orders and individual worries about health improvement 20,21,25,27 . The most common reasons for staying in the programs, though, have more to do with enjoyment of the activities, although health-related reasons do not completely disappear 19,20,[22][23][24][26][27][28] .…”

A systematic review about the characteristics and patterns of use of outdoor gyms

“…According to the different studies, using OGs represents only a supplementary activity and most people use OGs to supplement main activities and are active when they commute to the OGs (Chow, 2013(Chow, , 2017Ibiapina et al, 2017;Iepsen & Silva, 2015;Mathias et al, 2018;Mora, 2012;Mora et al,2017;Nałęcz et al, 2018;Pinheiro & Coelho Filho, 2017;Salin, Virtuoso, Noronha Nepomuceno, Weiers & Mazo, 2014;Silva, Fermino, Alberico & Reis, 2016Souza, Fermino, Rodriguez-Añez. & Reis, ,2014).…”

“…What about urban design, the importance of the environment for permanence of older adults in PA programs, identified the feeling of well-being (60%) and easy access to the place of PA (50%) as very important factors (Salin et al 2014). Urban design is a key factor.…”