The broad long term objective of the proposal is to test stage-and theory-based nursing interventions that may influence physical activity in community-dwelling rural elderly. In order to reduce chronic disease and improve health status among older adults, Healthy People 2000 physical activity and fitness risk reduction objectives mandate research that informs health care providers how to effectively engage older persons in physically active health behaviors rather than sedentary lifestyle.
Specific aims of the research include: (1) to design, pilot, test, and evaluate a church based, transtheoretical model stage matched nursing intervention for community dwelling, rural older adults to: (a) increase the amount of physical activity, and (b) move subjects onward in the stages of physical activity health behavior change; and (2) to examine the effect of experiencing a life transition (relocation; retirement; illness or death of spouse, significant other, friend or family member; or new illness or diagnosis of self) on rural older adults' responses to the nursing intervention for increasing physical activity and stage of health behavior change. A secondary aim is to examine the relationship between increasing physical activity over time and health outcomes, however this is not the emphasis of the proposal. An experimental control group design with repeated measures pre-and post-intervention with elderly subjects recruited from existing rural church groups is proposed. This research will inform nursing knowledge about effective methods and timing of interventions to increase physical activity in the older segment of a rural population over longer periods of time.
