2014 HMS Seminar Series

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 26 September 2014 - Friday, 26 September 2014

Time:

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Room:

219

UQ Location:

Human Movement Studies Building (St Lucia)

Event category(s):

Full Description:: This far, this well: A salutogenic study of 36 Australians beyond 65 years of age

The aim of this study was to consider the usefulness of Aaron Antonovsky’s salutogenic (sources of health) theories in relation to the health and physical activity levels of older Australians.

Thirty-six community-dwelling Australians 65-93 years of age completed Antonovsky’s 13-item sense-of-coherence (SOC) questionnaire and were asked about resources for dealing with stress in their lives. A survey provided information about their living circumstances, health problems, and self-rated health (SRH). They wore accelerometers and kept activity diaries for one week.

We found that more than 80% rated their health ‘good’ or better. Sixty-four percent registered >150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Those with higher SOC scores engaged in more MVPA and had higher SRH ratings.
This study provided support for physical activity as a health resource and for the usefulness of Antonovsky’s salutogenic theory in research on the health and physical activity levels of Australians ≥65 years of age.