Personal barriers to physical practice by older adults in different socio-economic locations: a qualitative study

Abstract

Objective. This study was conducted to try to understand the barriers encountered by Spanish older adults participating in the study when joining programs or maintaining the practice of physical exercise based on their perceptions. Methods. Four focus groups were conducted in different socio-economic- locations with a total of 39 older adults. These settings were in a rural area, a neighborhood at risk of exclusion and an urban context of higher socioeconomic level. The methodological analysis was inductive and emergent, delimiting the statements of the study participants from the specific to the general through the coding process of grounded theory. Results. Differences between contexts on personal barriers to physical practice, the role of the family, the context and its influence on practice barriers were presented. There are socioeconomic and cultural differences between the physical environments of the four different focus groups developed in this research. The results revealed that levels of exercise and physical activity decreased with age. Conclusions. The study makes clear that the attributes of the personal domain directly affect participation in physical practice. In relation to gender differences, older adult men find fewer barriers in terms of free time after retirement, while women continue to have family and domestic responsibilities in addition to suffering from the macho culture that increases their barriers to physical exercise.