The government appointed National Board on Health Promoting Exercise suggested that the executive board of the national Strength in Old Age Health Exercise Programme (2005–2014) should design a national policy programme for older people’s physical activity. The policy programme was made in cooperation with the similarly aimed PASEO project funded by the EU.
The target group of the programme includes older people who do not get enough exercise for their health: 1) 60+ people who are retiring, 2) 75+ people living independently and having early problems of mobility, 3) older people in home services, service housing or long-term institutional care. The starting point was to increase everyday activity and physical activity independently or in guidance.
The background of the programme is formed by what we know about the challenges of population ageing, benefitsof exercise for health and functional capacity, level of physical activity in older people in relation to exercise recommendations, significanceof environment, quality and quantity of guided exercise, and need for exercise counseling. The promotion of everyday mobility and increase of exercise counseling and guided exercise requires cross-sectorial administrative cooperation. High quality development requires changes in attitudes and the assumption of new knowledge and methods of action. The policy programme offers recommendations in six areas:
Cross-sectorial cooperation and division of activity: 1) Health promoting exercise for older people is included in the legislation, government strategies, and other national actors’ strategies, action plans and budgets concerning older adults. 2) Older people’s health promoting exercise is included in municipal health strategies and in the strategies and action plans of local organizations that reach the target groups. 3) In municipalities there should be a cross-administrative cooperation group that promotes the health and well-being of older people and deals with physical exercise.
Environment and facilities: 4) Increasing safe and accessible walking and cycling routes as well as exercise facilities outdoors. 5) Construct, renovate and implement indoor exercise facilities for older people.
Exercise counseling and activities: 6) Increase exercise counseling for older people in municipalities. 7) Increase physical activities for older people with low or decreasing mobility in municipalities.
Public awareness, attitudes and expertise: 8) Encourage various educational and other organizations to add older people’s exercise in their training programmes. 9) Secure the maintenance of training networks for older people’s health exercise. 10) Organize municipal learning events for older people about physical exercise and voluntary work. 11) Produce and collect learning and guidance materials and descriptions of good practices in the fieldto create a data bank. 12) Organize campaigns and events that promote positive attitudes to older people with various degrees of functional capacity.
Dialogue between research and development: 13) Initiate research and coordinated development projects that address the challenges and needs of older people’s health promoting exercise. 14) Organize regular, national forums on exercise and older people.
Coordination, follow-up and evaluation of the programme: 15) The nomination of responsible persons and method of action for the coordination and evaluation of the programme. 16) Create quality criteria for the guided health exercise of older people and assess the exercise activities based on those criteria.The recommendations of the policy programme are directed to decision-makers and various actors nationally, regionally and locally
