The goal of the St. Paul’s Physical Activity Leadership Capacity Building Project is to address the physical inactivity among older adults and seniors aged fifty and over from the ethno cultural and low-income community in Scarborough through public education, leadership training, and creating a physically and socially supportive environment.
The project was successful due to the partnership of Agincourt Community Services Association: E & J Physiotherapy Clinic; Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation; Osteoporosis Canada; the Arthritis Society; Toronto Public Health; and Toronto Public Library.
Activities:
- Leadership training workshops for peer leaders and volunteers
- Education workshops conducted by trained peer leaders in community setting in six languages: English, Cantonese, Tamil, Somali, and Mandarin.
- One-on-one sessions conducted by trained volunteers at isolated or low mobility seniors’ home.
- Educational DVD in English, Cantonese, and Tamil developed for both service providers and participants with low mobility.
Accomplishments:
- Provided knowledge on physical activity, opportunities for walking, and practice of the Top Ten Exercises for Seniors to approximately 1,700 seniors and older adults.
- Trained and hired 6 peer leaders who delivered 60 educational workshops to over 1,200 older adults and seniors in more than 50 locations in Scarborough.
- Trained 30 volunteers who conducted about 200 one-on-one sessions at isolated or low-mobility seniors’ home in six languages.
- Learned about the top five activities of the communities we served (639 workshop respondents) :
- Watching TV 97%
- Taking Escalator 83%
- Carrying Groceries 82%
- Housework 80%
- Walking 52%
- 73% workshop survey respondents self-reported that they learned a lot about exercise.
- Telephone survey 2 – 3 months after workshop / one-on-one session participants (461 participants) indicated that:
- 91% self-reported practicing what they learned about exercise
- 76% self-reported an increase in the duration and frequency of physical activity
- Production of educational DVD on physical activity in three languages.
Lessons Learned
- Surveys of project participants showed that simple pictorial illustrations of easy to do and safe stretching exercises were helpful exercise reminders, and cues for older adults and seniors.
- Organized Walk-In-the Park programs with the low-income, and ethno cultural community encouraged formation of walking groups, and better utilization of local walking paths.
- The collaborative efforts of trained peer leaders, volunteers, and professionals, including public health nurse, physiotherapist, and other health and social service workers in promoting the top ten exercises recommended by the Arthritis Society, as well as walking, were very effective in engaging the community in starting or increasing the intensity or duration of physical activity.
Recommendations:
- Translate and produce the project educational DVD on physical activity in three more languages – Arabic, Mandarin, & Somali.
- Develop community support or transition program to support project participants/ marginalized communities to engage in increased level and duration of physical activity through education and demonstration of other models of physical activity.
Funded By: Government of Ontario
