Summary
Choose to Move is not a “one-size-fits-all,” prescriptive program. Instead, it combines a person-centred approach with opportunities for older adults to pursue their best health. Choose to Move was created to address the epidemic of loneliness and physical inactivity amongst older adults. It is designed based on the unwavering evidence that regular social connections and physical activity yield massive health benefits. Choose to Move is delivered in partnership with community-based seniors’ service organizations—from recreation centres run by local governments to charity-operated service centres. Programs are delivered in-person or virtually, depending on the preference of the delivery partner and the participants. With support from a trained activity coach and their cohort, participants set personalized activity goals, learn about services in their community, and connect with others to support their goals. Participants learn to monitor and adjust their goals—a lifelong skill—with support from their activity coach. Choose to Move incorporates the best evidence in community-based health promotion for older adults along with feedback from an extensive stakeholder network—from older adults themselves to program providers and policy makers. As of early 2023, we have provided 800+ programs for 8,000+ older British Columbians in communities of all shapes and sizes. The Active Aging Society leads the implementation and scale-up of Choose to Move. The Society is a non-profit based in British Columbia, Canada with a mission to promote the social, physical, and mental health of older adults. The Active Aging Research Team at the University of British Columbia Society leads program adaptation and evaluation.
Planning and Implementation
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What was the challenge you were trying to address?
Choose to Move focuses on to important determinants of health: physical activity and social connectedness. Despite known health benefits of physical activity, older adults remain among the least physically active age group globally with 30–60% not meeting guidelines. In Canada, 87% do not meet guidelines. As we age our social network size decreases and social isolation increases; these experiences can have negative health impacts, including physical and cognitive limitations. In Canada, 1 in 4 older women and 1 in 5 older men report feeling lonely at least some of the time. With population aging, we need scalable, upstream, community-based interventions that preserve and improve the health of older adults. Choose to Move is designed on the unwavering evidence that regular social and physical activity yield significant health benefits—and its delivery and dissemination methods are informed by the leading research in implementation and scale-up science. At an organizational level, Choose to Move aims to overcome scope limitations and skill deficits in community services with the goal of creating more connected, supportive services for older adults. With our recreation centre partners, we empower them with tools and facts so that they can increasingly prioritize and provide for an older adult demographic. With seniors’ service partners we equip them with resources and skills so that they can confidently and safely promote physical activity to improve health outcomes. As a result, older adults have greater access to health promoting programs and services. People deserve to age healthfully—with the opportunity to participate in community life, pursue their interests, and share their skills. Choose to Move creates the conditions for people to age in place.
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Who were you trying to impact?
Older people in general, Older people with chronic health conditions or disability, Older people with vulnerabilities
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What sectors were you targeting?
Health, Other
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Who else was involved?
Government, Civil Society Organization, Academia, Health Care, Social Care
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How did older people participate?
Older people were part of the process at multiple or all stages
Lessons learned
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Please describe how collaboration worked in your initiative.
So many partners have been part of the Choose to Move success. Choose to Move is the brainchild of the Active Aging Research Team at the University of British Columbia. Choose to Move was designed through extensive literature reviews and consultation with international scholars. The program was also formed with substantial input from policy leads in provincial and local governments as well as leaders of community and recreation services. The Active Aging Society is entrusted to implement and scale-up Choose to Move through organizations that service diverse groups of older adults. At every step, we work in partnership to deliver, evaluate, and adapt Choose to Move.
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What was the impact of your initiative on older people, their families, and/or their communities?
Choose to Move has fostered positive impact across all partners and participants. Firstly, based on the research lead by the UBC Active Aging Research Team (AART) as well as the Active Aging Society’s impact reports we know that Choose to Move has positive impacts on older adults. Research shows that older adults who participate in Choose to Move experience significant improvements in daily physical activity, mobility, and social connectedness along with reductions in loneliness. Impact reports and interviews with older adults show that Choose to Move makes a positive difference in their lives—from improved balance, to new friends, and connection to community services that support their desire to live independently. At the community level, Choose to Move networks service providers together, all of whom are increasingly committed to filling the gaps in services for older residents.
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What issues did you face, and how did you address them?
Diversely structured organizations, diversely skilled program leaders, and the diverse interests of older adults encouraged us to tailor the Choose to Move program components and the implementation process. No one organization, program leader, or older adult participant are the same. Choose to Move adapts to the interests of participants and the strengths of the community. Over time, we adapted Choose to Move to reduce costs. With investments from our provincial government and a desire to reach as many older adults as possible, we conducted economic analyses to create financial efficiencies without compromising the participant experience. The COVID-19 pandemic created enormous strain on community services. We pivoted quickly to the public health recommendations, working with our delivery partners to make Choose to Move available through virtual platforms. From local radio broadcasts to online video conferencing, Choose to Move reached older adults who wanted to be active and connected while adhering to public health orders and guidelines. The COVID-19 pandemic inspired us to enhance our online resource page too—a popular source of information and inspiration for older adults wanting to keep active and healthy. Despite the return to in-person programming, our online offerings and resources remain in high demand amongst Choose to Move participants and program leaders.
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What lessons did you learn from implementing this initiative?
1) Working in partnership with diverse stakeholders—from academics to service provides—we have learned that it takes a ‘whole village’ approach to meaningfully and sustainably elevate the health of older adults. Cross sector and cross institution collaboration are instrumental in coordinating services for older adults and effectively meeting their needs. 2) We’ve learned that older adults are motivated to connect with each other and their community and share their knowledge and skills—and just need the opportunities and the invitation. Also, having witness the success of 800+ programs, we know that a few personalized goals and a little support can go a long way in successfully initiating new, health-promoting habits. 3) The evidence is resounding. Sitting less and moving more is one of the best things we can do for our physical health. Connecting with others in activities we enjoy—and moving our bodies—improves mood and one’s outlook on life. Fostering more opportunity for physical and social activities is a simple and feasible solution to preventable health decrements that are experienced in older age.
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Do you have any other reflections you would like to share?
The Decade provides us an opportunity to align Choose to Move with global priorities, initiatives, knowledge sources. We are keen to share our experience and learn from others. It is our goal to adapt Choose to Move to other settings and populations. We want apply what we have learned, along with our teams’ skills and capacity, to support older adults who experience barriers in accessing health promoting opportunities or who live with vulnerabilities that limit their participation in health promoting programming. We hope that our on-going connection with the Decade provides us opportunities to collaborate with others.