Care Partner Physical Activity Attitudes and Practices on Perceived Physical Activity Benefits for Older Adults

Background: Care partners play a critical role in supporting physical activity among older adults. This study assesses how care partners’ attitudes to and engagement in physical activity relate to their perceived benefits of exercise for older adults. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 305 care partners completed validated surveys on the perceived benefits of physical activities among older adults (outcome), attitudes towards, and practices of physical activities (predictors). For all three surveys, higher scores indicate greater perceived benefit, more positive attitudes, and greater engagement in physical activities. We assessed the relationship between the predictor and outcome variables using multivariable quantile regression models adjusted for sociodemographic, caregiving, and health-related covariates. We reported the adjusted median difference (aMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The population was predominantly young adults (18-34 years, 58%), female (53%), who had been providing caregiving services for three or more years (43%). The median perceived physical activity benefit for older adults, personal attitude toward physical activity, and physical activity practice scale scores were 60.0 (52.0 – 66.0), 29.0 (25.0 – 33.0), and 33.0 (28.0 – 39.0), respectively. After adjusting for covariates, a unit increase in both attitude towards physical activity (aMD: 1.14; 95% CI: 0.96 – 1.33) and physical activity practice (aMD: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.45 – 0.75) was associated with increased median score of perceived benefit of physical activity among older adults. Conclusion: Care partners with positive attitudes and greater engagement in their personal physical activity perceive physical activities as beneficial for older adults.