gms | German Medical Science

Physical activity and successful aging
10th International EGREPA Conference

European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity

14.09. - 16.09.2006 in Köln

Implementation of the THENAPAII research project in Romania

Meeting Abstract

  • corresponding author V. Marcu - University of Oradea, Romania
  • E. Tarcau - University of Oradea, Romania
  • M. Dan - University of Oradea, Romania
  • C. Matei - University of Oradea, Romania
  • M. Chiriac - University of Oradea, Romania
  • V. Serac - University of Oradea, Romania

Physical activity and successful aging. Xth International EGREPA Conference. Cologne, 14.-16.09.2006. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2006. Doc06pasa075

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/pasa2006/06pasa075.shtml

Published: December 18, 2006

© 2006 Marcu et al.
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Outline

Text

Introduction

The fact that in the European Union 24% of the population was over 60 years of age (this level will reach a percentage of 35-38% in 2030), is the reason why we try to implement in Romania a project on Adapted Physical Activity for elderly persons. Our country, at the suggestion and with the support of European Association for APA research made us wish to implement this project in collaboration with several NGO-s and some professional associations like Romanian Federation of the Physical Therapy Associations, University Foundation for Physical Therapy and Romanian Federation of Sport for All.

Methods

The research has many goals on long and short terms. The most important of them are the followings: the study of APA means efficiency and working methodology concerning the life quality and fitness level improvement, dissemination of APA information to the population, also information of its effects, the monitoring of APA implementation at elderly persons and the establishment of a Resource Center for the same age category. The research project has several stages, actually the same as the used research methods: identification of the documentary sources, identification of the persons to be included in the research, the medical, physical and psychical evaluation (initial, intermediate and final); elaboration and implementation of a questionnaire in order to asses the willingness of attending the APA program. The evaluation includes: a) The level of gross-motor and fine activity; b) The development and movement perception level; c) The level of social and communication abilities; d) features of activity daily living.

Results

Making the decisional authorities at local and national level aware of the importance of APA in the inclusion of the elderly persons; the standardization of some APA programs for different categories of elderly persons, printing and publishing these programs, dissemination of these intermediary results of the research in various university centres with the attendance of the students in Physical Education, Social Work and Medicine ; communication of the results at an International Conference on APA at the elderly persons.

Conclusions

APA for the elderly persons is one of the few means at our disposal in order to improve the quality of life of these persons, no matter from which categories they are: impaired persons, impaired persons who become elderly and longeval.


References

1.
Marcu V et al. The Integration of the Handicapped Persons Through APA, THENAPA Program, Erasmus, Belgium. In: The European Bulletin of Adapted Physical Activity, European Association for Research into APA. 2000;3(3).