The current recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that all adults accumulate 30 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity on all, or most days of the week. Data from the 1991 National Health Interview Survey, and the 1992 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reveal that less than 30% of Americans aged 65 and over meet or exceed these requirements. The purpose of this Phase I SBIR project is to establish the merit and technical feasibility of producing a CD-ROM delivered physical activity intervention for older adults. The Active Lives CD-ROM will be interactive and will assist older adults in developing a personalized plan for increasing physical activity to nationally recommended standards. A prototype CD-ROM will be developed and evaluated with qualitative and quantitative input from 40 older adults in individual """"""""test drive"""""""" sessions and focus groups, as well input from 12 health care providers in focus group sessions. Complete CD-ROM development and impact evaluation will occur in Phase II. In Phase III, Partners for Health Systems, Inc. will partner with Health Enhancement Systems and Hopkins Technologies (developers and marketers of health- related products) to transfer technology (i.e., the Active Lives CD-ROM) to the commercial marketplace.
The need for health care providers to counsel older adults on physical activity is clear. Yet, physicians have limited time and few resources available to assist them. Kaiser Permanente and the American College of Sports Medicine have expressed interest in the Active Lives CD-ROM if proven effective. Health Enhancement Systems and Hopkins Technologies have expressed interest in partnering with PHS to market the CD-ROM.
