Citation

Lee DC, Day L, Finch CF, Hill KD, Clemson L, McDermott F, Haines TP. J. Aging Phys. Act. 2014; 23(2): 256-263.

Affiliation

Allied Health Research Unit, Monash Health & Physiotherapy Department, Monash Health, Cheltenham, VIC, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Human Kinetics Publishers)

DOI

10.1123/japa.2014-0012

PMID

24911221

Abstract

This paper examines whether involvement in an observational study may prompt participants to change their exercise behaviors. Data was collected from 394 older community dwellers in Victoria, Australia using a baseline survey, and 245 of these participated in a follow-up survey one year later. Survey domains were drawn from constructs of relevant health behavior models.

RESULTS showed that the proportion of respondents who were currently participating in exercises to prevent falls at follow-up was 12% higher than at baseline (Wilcoxon p value<0.001). Twenty-nine percent reported they had changed their perceptions about falls and their risk of falls, with comments focused on threat appraisal. Forty-four percent reported having taken strategies to reduce their risk of falling, with comments based on implementation of different preventive strategies. Respondents who held favorable views towards exercises for the prevention of falls appear to change their behaviors that might address falls when participating in observational studies.

Language: en