Appalachian Receives Funding for Survey on Older Adults' Participation in Sports

The National Recreation and Park Association has allocated $25,000 to fund a joint venture with Appalachian State University to collect online survey data on the sports and activity participation behaviors and interests of adults older than 50, reports Mountain Times . Appalachian Professor Stephanie West will use the money to conduct the survey in collaboration with fellow instructor Jill Naar. According to West, the poll's results will help specify the current sports behaviors and interests of 1,200 older adults, in addition to practices and policies of parks and recreation departments that might optimize their participation. The outcomes also will enable West and Naar to spot factors that motivate and/or discourage older adult participation in sports, which parks and recreation departments can then manage. Moreover, the survey will help determine the negotiations older men and women typically follow to be active, like seeking a community recreation center they can use, going to a park, or walking on neighborhood sidewalks, especially if they lack the money to join a private health club. "While parks and recreation practitioners might help older adults negotiate things like self-esteem or transportation, or even the self-esteem needed to use public transportation, some strategies for helping others negotiate constraints might not be cost-effective or practical for implementation on a larger scale," West notes.