"Världens bästa uppåttjack!" - Seniorers motivation till att utöva fysisk aktivitet : En kvalitativ enkätstudie med öppna frågor

The elderly population is a group in society that is increasing at a significantly faster rate than other groups in society and inactivity are most prevalent in this group. Therefore, senior are an important target group to focus research. Physical activity contributes to increased health, but it is not as easy as it sounds. The motivation for physical activity can vary both from day to day and from person to person. The aim of the study was to investigate what motivates seniors to continuously perform regular physical activity. In the study were 60 people over 65 years old who were physical active at least twice a week invited. Of these 51 people chose to participate, of which 11 men and 40 women. Each participant received a questionnaire with six open questions to which they had to write the answers with their own words. The questionnaires were analyzed by manifest content analysis. The qualitative analysis resulted in five categories: becomes more mobile, social community, have fun and keep disease at bay. The result showed that seniors were motivated to physical activity by social community, for example, meet like-minded people. Participants also felt that it was important to stay healthy by exercising regularly, some of them could even see improvements in their own health by being physical active. The study results are discussed related health promotion. The conclusion was that the motivation for seniors to practice physical activity was to become more mobile, feel social connection, have fun and keep disease at bay.Keywords: Healthpromotion, health guidance, motivation, physical activity, elderly.Validerat; 20160629 (global_studentproject_submitter