OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to identify and characterize the barriers and motivations to physical activity (PA) for elderly adults in Iran and other countries.METHODS: We searched 6 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, and the Scientific Information Database) from 2000 to the November 2017, using “aged 60 and over,” “physical activity” or “exercise,” and “motivator” and “barrier” as keywords. Two reviewers independently performed the search, screening, and quality assessment of the studies.RESULTS: In total, 34 papers were finally included in the study. The most important barriers, based on the frequency of factors, included physical problems, having no companions, and physical barriers to walking. The motivators included improving one's physical condition, being social, and suitability of the physical environment.CONCLUSIONS: Important motivators and barriers to PA were more closely related to intrapersonal factors than to the interpersonal and environmental domains. The barriers and motivators to PA in the elderly were not markedly different between Iran and other countries. Therefore, a general strategy could be designed to improve PA in the elderly.
Adult ; Aged ; Aging ; Architectural Accessibility ; Friends ; Humans ; Iran ; Mass Screening ; Motivation ; Motor Activity ; Walking

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to identify and characterize the barriers and motivations to physical activity (PA) for elderly adults in Iran and other countries. METHODS: We searched 6 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, and the Scientific Information Database) from 2000 to the November 2017, using “aged 60 and over,”“physical activity” or “exercise,” and “motivator” and “barrier” as keywords. Two reviewers independently performed the search, screening, and quality assessment of the studies. RESULTS: In total, 34 papers were finally included in the study. The most important barriers, based on the frequency of factors, included physical problems, having no companions, and physical barriers to walking. The motivators included improving one's physical condition, being social, and suitability of the physical environment. CONCLUSIONS Important motivators and barriers to PA were more closely related to intrapersonal factors than to the interpersonal and environmental domains. The barriers and motivators to PA in the elderly were not markedly different between Iran and other countries. Therefore, a general strategy could be designed to improve PA in the elderly.

Background: This study conducted an empirical evaluation of an intervention derived from the theory of planned behavior (TPB) aimed at implementing a health campaign among medical students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this interventional study, a valid and reliable TPB-based questionnaire was administered before launching a health campaign titled “Organ Donation=Life Donation” among 260 medical students. The campaign was structured around nine steps:situation analysis, goal identification, target audience identification, strategy development, tactics establishment, media selection, timetable creation, budget planning, and program evaluation. Two months after the campaign, participants completed a posttest and were offered an organ donation card. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS ver.16, employing descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the paired-samples t-test. Results: All participants adopted more prodonation stances across all constructs measured, both immediately and 2 months after exposure to the health campaign, compared to their pretest scores. These results indicate that the health campaign had a significant impact on psychological variables such as attitudes (P<0.001), subjective norms (P<0.001), and perceived behavioral control (P<0.038), as well as on the actual acceptance of an organ donor card. Conclusions Effective health education and promotion interventions, including health campaigns, are essential to encourage the use of organ donation cards. Additionally, current experiences indicate that the TPB serves as a suitable theoretical framework for designing organ donation interventions.

Background: This study conducted an empirical evaluation of an intervention derived from the theory of planned behavior (TPB) aimed at implementing a health campaign among medical students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this interventional study, a valid and reliable TPB-based questionnaire was administered before launching a health campaign titled “Organ Donation=Life Donation” among 260 medical students. The campaign was structured around nine steps:situation analysis, goal identification, target audience identification, strategy development, tactics establishment, media selection, timetable creation, budget planning, and program evaluation. Two months after the campaign, participants completed a posttest and were offered an organ donation card. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS ver.16, employing descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the paired-samples t-test. Results: All participants adopted more prodonation stances across all constructs measured, both immediately and 2 months after exposure to the health campaign, compared to their pretest scores. These results indicate that the health campaign had a significant impact on psychological variables such as attitudes (P<0.001), subjective norms (P<0.001), and perceived behavioral control (P<0.038), as well as on the actual acceptance of an organ donor card. Conclusions Effective health education and promotion interventions, including health campaigns, are essential to encourage the use of organ donation cards. Additionally, current experiences indicate that the TPB serves as a suitable theoretical framework for designing organ donation interventions.

Background: This study conducted an empirical evaluation of an intervention derived from the theory of planned behavior (TPB) aimed at implementing a health campaign among medical students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this interventional study, a valid and reliable TPB-based questionnaire was administered before launching a health campaign titled “Organ Donation=Life Donation” among 260 medical students. The campaign was structured around nine steps:situation analysis, goal identification, target audience identification, strategy development, tactics establishment, media selection, timetable creation, budget planning, and program evaluation. Two months after the campaign, participants completed a posttest and were offered an organ donation card. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS ver.16, employing descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the paired-samples t-test. Results: All participants adopted more prodonation stances across all constructs measured, both immediately and 2 months after exposure to the health campaign, compared to their pretest scores. These results indicate that the health campaign had a significant impact on psychological variables such as attitudes (P<0.001), subjective norms (P<0.001), and perceived behavioral control (P<0.038), as well as on the actual acceptance of an organ donor card. Conclusions Effective health education and promotion interventions, including health campaigns, are essential to encourage the use of organ donation cards. Additionally, current experiences indicate that the TPB serves as a suitable theoretical framework for designing organ donation interventions.

Background: This study conducted an empirical evaluation of an intervention derived from the theory of planned behavior (TPB) aimed at implementing a health campaign among medical students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this interventional study, a valid and reliable TPB-based questionnaire was administered before launching a health campaign titled “Organ Donation=Life Donation” among 260 medical students. The campaign was structured around nine steps:situation analysis, goal identification, target audience identification, strategy development, tactics establishment, media selection, timetable creation, budget planning, and program evaluation. Two months after the campaign, participants completed a posttest and were offered an organ donation card. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS ver.16, employing descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the paired-samples t-test. Results: All participants adopted more prodonation stances across all constructs measured, both immediately and 2 months after exposure to the health campaign, compared to their pretest scores. These results indicate that the health campaign had a significant impact on psychological variables such as attitudes (P<0.001), subjective norms (P<0.001), and perceived behavioral control (P<0.038), as well as on the actual acceptance of an organ donor card. Conclusions Effective health education and promotion interventions, including health campaigns, are essential to encourage the use of organ donation cards. Additionally, current experiences indicate that the TPB serves as a suitable theoretical framework for designing organ donation interventions.