Facilities and Barrier of Physical Activity in Elderlies in Kashan, Iran

Abstract

Background: The supplements and decreasing the limitations are important for suitable physical activity. These factors are different in various environments. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the facilities and barriers for physical activity in elderlies in Kashan, Iran, during 2014. Patients and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample included 400 elderly people (aged more than 60 years) living in Kashan, Iran. The subjects were selected by multistage cluster sampling. They were selected randomly from healthcare centers in three regions of Kashan. The sample size was different according to gender and living area. The demographic characteristics were recorded and the exercise benefits/barriers scale (EBBS) was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, Pearson’s correlation, Student t-test, and ANOVA were used for data analysis. The significance level for all the tests was considered P < 0.05. Results: Of the total elderly, 237 (59.2%) were females. The average age was 67.6 ± 6.8 years. The mean of barrier and facility scores were 103.17 ± 21.08 and 70.82 ± 18.27, respectively. The most important facilitating factor in 88 subjects (22%) was related to cardiovascular system health. In addition, the most important barrier was lack of suitable location, mentioned by 113 elderly (28.2%). There was a significant relationship between facility and barrier scores and the physical activity level (chi-squared = 19.91, P = 0.0001), age (P = 0.001 r = 0.01), gender (P = 0.000), marital status (P = 0.000), educational status (P = 0.000), personal independence (P < 0.000), current job (P = 0.030), and living area (P = 0.042). Conclusions: The influences of various facilities and barriers were different in the physical activity of elderly in Kashan. The promotion of active life style should be a part of health care planning in elderly.