Increasing healthy activities in older people: The back for action program

The changing age structure of the population and its potential impact on government provisions for healthcare has focused attention on the development of appropriate policies and services. In particular, there has been an emphasis on preventative measures. Hence significant resources are being directed towards research and other initiatives, such as media campaigns, that aim to encourage older people to adopt healthier and more active lifestyles. However, improving the wellbeing of older people involves arranging supportive contexts for behaviour change, including their self-management of more active behaviours. This symposium outlines the development and evaluation of a comprehensive, home-based intervention founded on behaviour change principles that targeted increasing healthy activities in older people. Papers will describe components of our Back for Action Program (BAP) specifically, selecting and measuring the type and frequency of daily activities, evaluating generalized benefits to health and wellbeing, and assessing the utility of feedback, behaviour activation and self-management as behaviour change strategies. Single-case studies will be presented to illustrate the implementation of the bap in a West-Australian community. These four papers provide a novel perspective on ways of increasing the ‘healthy aging’ activities of people over 70 years.