Project 459801

As one-third of Canadians will be older adults (>65y) by 2050, it is no surprise that healthy aging is a public health priority. Older adults who are physically active are more socially connected and interact more fully with their communities. However, 85% of older adults in Canada are not active enough to enjoy health benefits. Therefore, with our community partners we co-designed Choose to Move (CTM)-a flexible, community-based program that improved physical activity, mobility, social connectedness and diminished loneliness in older adult participants. From small beginnings, CTM was scaled-up across 7 years to reach >6000 older adults in one province. However, CTM engaged primarily white older adults, most of whom were women. Our Implementation Science Team in Healthy Aging aims to address this inequity. We propose to adapt CTM for three more diverse groups of older adults who live in large- (Vancouver, Surrey) or medium-sized (Prince George, Waterloo) cities. Specifically, we will focus on older adults marginalized by one or more of: ethnicity, geography, sex/gender. We will work with community-based seniors' services (e.g., not-for-profits; cultural centers; neighbourhood houses) to adapt CTM for 'best fit' and to help organizations build the capacity (support and training) they need to deliver the CTM program. Our research objectives are to: 1) describe how CTM is adapted to meet the needs of older adults of different ethnicities, older adults in northern BC and older men; (an engagement/adaptation outcome); 2) evaluate factors that affect implementation (e.g., feasibility) (an implementation science outcome); and 3) measure health indicators among older adults who participate in CTM (a health outcome). Our impact will be an implementation science research network, engaged community organizations, an evidence-based and more equitable intervention (CTM), a new generation of implementation scientists, and healthy, engaged and connected older adults.