Message sent, message received: Exploring the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans information available to older adults (Preprint)
BACKGROUND More attention has been given to researchers’ role in dissemination than to information-seeking practices of lay audiences to date. In particular, older adults’ interactions with online platforms for health-related information was nascent. This may be part of the reason only 13% of Americans aged 65+ years are meeting physical activity recommendations, with approximately the same low compliance rate worldwide. OBJECTIVE To determine what information was readily available (i.e., open access) to older adults who may casually search the internet for physical activity recommendations. METHODS Engaged in a 6-part scoping review to determine the research question, available evidence, and extract data within open-access top hits using popular online search engines. Results were categorized by a dissemination model that has categories of: sources, channels, audience, and messages. RESULTS After the iterative search process, 92 unique articles were included and coded. Only 5% cited physical activity guidelines, and 90% were coded as promoting healthy aging and positive framing. Most articles were posed as educational, but the authors’ credentials were rarely reported (i.e., reported 22% of the time). Muscle strengthening and balance components of the physical activity guidelines for older adults were rarely reported (78%, 86%) or inaccurately reported (3%, 3%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Inconsistent messages lead to mistrust of science and public health representatives. This work highlights the lack of evidence within existing open access resources. Further efforts are needed to ensure evidence-based public health messages are in the sources and channels older adults are using to inform their knowledge and behaviors. CLINICALTRIAL N/A