Older Adult Walking Programs in Urban Park and Indoor Environments – Implementation and Perceived Restorativeness

Green exercise, or exercise performed in a natural environment, has additional health benefits than exercise alone. However, older adults may experience barriers to getting outside including distance from natural spaces. Therefore, urban parks and forests provide older adults with an opportunity to engage in accessible green exercise. In this April 2020 talk, Alexa Meins shared two parts of her dissertation research, guided by the Attention Restoration Theory (ART), and conducted in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR).

In the first part, Alexa conducted a program evaluation of the implementation outcomes acceptability and appropriateness of two SPR urban park Sound Steps programs for older adults. In the second part, she compared two indoor and two outdoor Sound Steps program locations for perceived restorativeness. Older adults perceived physical, mental, social, and spiritual health benefits from green exercise program participation. Future investigations are warranted, particularly in evaluation tools of perceived restorativeness for the older adult audience.

About the Speaker

Alexa Meins is a PhD Candidate and Reid Fellow in the University of Washington School of Nursing. Her background is in medical anthropology and specializes in qualitative and mixed methods research. She has partnered with the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Lifelong Recreation programs, which provide health and wellness offerings to adults aged 50 and above.