Effectiveness of a Physical Activity - Research Proposal Example

Discussion of Results This chapter reveals the results and the discussion to answer the problems or objectives of the study. The respondents’ mode oftransportation will give important information on the physical activities of the respondents. The figure below shows the distribution of the respondents in terms of their mode of transportation. Based from the figure, 64% of the respondents use their own car as a mode of transportation, 53 or 20% of the respondents travel by bus, 15 or 6% walk to their work,13 were lift by others, 10 or 4% ride taxi and 3 or 1% rode on a bicycle. From the above figure, only 16% (walking and riding bicycle) are obviously engaging in a moderate to vigorous physical activities. The others are only having light type of activities like driving their own car, riding in a bus or taxi. In terms of physical activities done for the past four weeks, 123 or 46% did, and 143 or 54% did not perform physical activities. The specific activities performed by the respondents in the last 4 weeks are summarized in the following table. Physical Activities done in the past 4 months The distribution of the respondents in terms of activities in the past 4 weeks is summarized in the table above. The primary activity done by the respondents is dancing followed by bowling with 42 responses, followed by swimming, gulf, new age curling, cycling and others. In terms of walking as one of the best exercise, 55% performed at least 30 minutes continuous walk and only 45% were not able to perform such walk in the past four weeks. Distribution of the respondents in terms of pace of walk In terms of pace of walk, 114 or 43% of the respondents walk steadily or average, 59 or 22% walk fairly fast, 45 or 17% walk fast, 42 or 14% walk slow and 7 or 3% did not respond. This shows that majority of the respondents are walking in average or normal pace. Perception of the respondents on the benefits of physical activities Benefits Frequency of Responses It is good for your physical health 145 It is a good social outlet 136 It is enjoyable/makes you feel good 122 It is good for your mental health 99 It is good for your mobility 98 It gives you a better quality of life 45 It keeps you fit/active/young 31 Don’t know 4 No Benefits 1 To evaluate perception of older people on the benefits of participating in physical activities, the above table was made. The respondents believe that physical activities help mainly on achieving physical health as reflected by 145 responses. This is followed by the reason that physical activities are good social outlets. It is also enjoyable, good for mental health, mobility, for better life, keeps one active or young, and some don’t know the benefits and one said their is no benefit. Perception of the respondents on the benefits of physical activities Downsides of Physical Activities Frequency of Responses The weather 148 You could get injured 108 It is tiring 78 It is time consuming 61 There are no downsides 29 It becomes harder to recover from 17 Don’t know 5 The perceptions of the respondents on the downsides of physical activities are shown by the table. It is clearly presented that the weather is not conducive to physical activities ins the first reason as reflected by 148 responses. This is followed by the reason for being injured, tired, time consuming, and its hard to recover if you engage in physical activities. However, 29 said that there are no downsides while 5 said they don’t know. Satisfaction Level of the respondents on physical activities Level of Satisfaction Frequency Very Satisfied 64 Fairly Satisfied 71 Very Dissatisfied 61 Fairly Dissatisfied 64 Neither Satisfied or Dissatisfied 2 No Opinion 1 No answer 3 The table shows the satisfaction level of the respondents. It is clear from the table that 64 out of 266 are very satisfied, 71 are fairly satisfied, 61 are very dissatisfied, 64 are fairly dissatisfied 2 are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 1 has no opinion and 3 did not answer. By the use of weighted mean where very satisfied=5, fairly satisfied=4, neither=3, fairly satisfied=2 and not satisfied=1, the weighted mean is 3.03 which falls under neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. This means that the respondents are generally neither satisfied nor dissatisfied on the physical activities. Motivations Frequency of Responses Wanting to get healthier for my long term well-being 168 To keep active 136 Wanting to get healthier for my day-to-day well-being. 135 The enjoyment 111 To lose weight 87 To feel better about myself generally 36 To meet new people 21 To keep me young 14 Nothing 0 Don’t know 0 No answer 4 From the table above, the main motivation for the respondents to engage in physical activities is to be healthy and have a long term well being. This is followed by to keep active, healthier from day to day, for enjoyment, to lose weight, to feel better, to meet new people, to keep young and 4 have no answer. This shows that the respondents’ main reasons are for a healthier life. T his has a bearing from the reviewed literature where the Department of Health in UK (2009) pointed out those physical activities can promote mental health, physical or musculoskeletal well being which helps adult prevent diseases like osteoporosis and other circulatory problems. The result in relationship with that of US Department of Health findings that physical activities can give opportunity for people to have fun, enjoyment and be with friends and family members (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Opportunities that will encourage the respondents to engage in physical activities Opportunities Frequency of Responses If I had more time 32 If I knew someone to do it with or already involved. 21 If there was an opportunity to do something I was already interested in. 5 If there were more opportunities locally to get involved. 6 If my health was better. 1 Other 0 Nothing. 0 Don’t know. 3 The table above shows the other opportunities that will encourage the respondents to engage in physical activities. Most of the respondents want to have more time, if they have companions who know already those physical activities, if interesting activities were open, if activities will be done locally and if their health conditions become better. Time is one of the main barriers why people can not engage in physical activities. This is so because it is widely known that most old people (not yet retired) are still enjoying their work and because of this, they only find time for physical activities during weekend days. This is similar to the findings of Jancey et al (2008). It was found that older men are not able to participate in many physical activities because of the work they have, and time is the main problem. As the result shows, social relationship is also one of the best ways for the old to engage in physical activities. They need some companions who already know good physical activities for them. Interesting activities may also provide good occasion for the old people to join physical activities. Barriers that prevent the respondents from engaging in physical activities Barriers Frequency of Responses The weather 154 Not enough time 133 Lack of interest 128 My health 119 Muscular/skeletal problems 48 Lack of adequate facilities locally 32 My age 28 My current lack of fitness 11 No barrier 9 Don’t know 1 No answer 3 The table above shows the constraints met by the respondents in engaging in physical activities. The main reason for the respondents is again the weather. This is followed in rank by time constraints, interest, health conditions, muscular/skeletal problems, facilities, age, lack of fitness, some have no barriers, one doesn’t know and 3 have no answer. Geographical locations affect people in engaging to physical activities. Regions that are hot may hinder people to be tired and get sweat. Colder weather may entice people to exercise and have physical activities to maintain heat. Time is again determined as a barrier and lack of interest in the available activities. Since the respondents are old people, it is expected that some of them are experiencing physical problems like muscle and skeletal problems that hinder them to engage in physical activities. Level Gender Very Satisfied Fairly Satisfied Fairly Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Neither/No Answer Male 22 36 19 11 1 Female 42 35 45 50 5 Distribution of the Respondents according to Level of Satisfaction The table shows the distribution of the respondents according to level of satisfaction on the physical activities. It is shown that most of the respondents are on very satisfied, fairly satisfied, fairly dissatisfied and very dissatisfied level. Through deeper analysis using the chi-square test of independence, it was found that level of satisfaction is dependent on gender, that men are more satisfied with the physical activities and female are more dissatisfied as reflected by chi-square value of 17.18 which is greater than the tabular value of 9.488 with df=4, and alpha is set at .05. These result maybe due to the fact that more of the physical activities in fitness gyms and others are for men. Level Gender Very Satisfied Fairly Satisfied Fairly Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Neither/No Answer Male 22 36 19 11 1 Female 42 35 45 50 5 Distribution of the respondents according to highest educational attainment and type of work Education Work Primary Secondary Tertiary Paid 17 17 9 Voluntary 51 32 11 The table shows the distribution of the respondents according to highest educational attainment and type of work (paid or voluntary). The table shows that many of the respondents have only finished primary level and only few have completed the tertiary level. For further analysis, the researcher used chi-square to test whether type of work is dependent on highest educational attainment. The result showed that the type of work to which one belongs is not dependent on his/her educational attainment as reflected by the computed chi-square value of 3.25 which is lesser than the tabular value at .05 level. This implies that one’s education does not determine the type of work he/she will be with. References Jancey, J., Lee, A., Howat, P., Clarke, A., Kui, W.& Shilton, T. (2008) ‘The Effectiveness of a Physical Activity Intervention for Seniors’. American Journal of Health Promotion Journal of US Department of Health and Human Services, (2008) UK Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive, (2009). Aims of the study 1: To determine the participation of older People in Physical Activity within Cavan/Monaghan: 2. To evaluate perception of older people on the benefits of participating in physical activities. 3. To determine the perception of older people regarding the downsides of participating in physical activities 4. Determine level of satisfaction of older people in Cavan/Monaghan to the Physical activities 5. To determine the factors that encourages participation of older people in physical activity in Cavan/Monaghan; 6. To determine factors that will give opportunities for older people to engage in physical activity in Cavan Monaghan.; 7. To identify constraints/barriers that prevents older people from engagement in physical activity in Cavan Monaghan; 8. To test if level of satisfaction is dependent on gender; 9. To test whether type of work is dependent on highest educational attainment. 10. To contribute to the scientific study of sport and exercise through this study as a basis. Change the hypothesis to: Satisfaction level is not dependent on gender. and add : Is type of work dependent on highest educational attainment? Read More