Sport for Adults Aged 50+ Years: Participation Benefits and Barriers

Despite the health benefits of sport, the proportion of people participating in sport decreases with age. This qualitative study explored the benefits and barriers regarding older adult community sport participation, from the perspective of national sporting organizations, in addition to older adult...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aging and physical activity 2018-07, Vol.26 (3), p.363-371
Main Authors: Jenkin, Claire R, Eime, Rochelle M, Westerbeek, Hans, van Uffelen, Jannique G Z
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Age
Aged
Barriers
Community Participation
Exercise
Female
Focus Groups
Health Behavior
Health status
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Older people
Participation
Physical activity
Policy making
Qualitative Research
Sports
Sports participation
Time use
Young Adult
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Summary:Despite the health benefits of sport, the proportion of people participating in sport decreases with age. This qualitative study explored the benefits and barriers regarding older adult community sport participation, from the perspective of national sporting organizations, in addition to older adult sport club and nonsport club members, across eight focus group interviews (n = 49). Seven benefits were discussed, primarily social and physical health and intergenerational opportunities. Ten barriers were also discussed, including physical health, time constraints, and lack of appropriate playing opportunities. Ensuring access to activities that can benefit social health is of great importance to older adults. As sport can provide participation opportunities across generations, it can be an ideal physical activity option for this age group. However, a major barrier is that sport policy often prioritizes the participation for younger age groups. Policymakers should include a focus on older adults, to derive social health benefits.
ISSN:1063-8652
1543-267X
DOI:10.1123/japa.2017-0092