Physical Literacy-based Intervention for Older Adults

Participants will receive a 12-week duration of functional fitness training in daycare centers, which will be implemented twice a week. The 60-minute per session training series will be delivered and guided by qualified elderly health and fitness instructors, who will be provided with a workshop before this intervention. The workshop will be designed and delivered by the research team. The first session will focus on the physical literacy of older adults and the second session will focus on how to lead functional fitness training under the FITT principle for older adults. The main goal of functional training is to improve the range of joint motion, increase muscle strength and flexibility, and boost blood circulation safely. Therefore, symmetry training together with cardiovascular training is the core of the training program. Examples of the main training activities include cardio-full-body exercises, upper-body exercises, lower-body exercises and sensory integrative training.

"A 30-minute MPLC program will be conducted by experienced elderly health and fitness instructors after WBFFT. This MPLC program aims to enhance the knowledge and understanding of physical literacy. Referring to the newly developed consensus statement, the MPLC includes the following five domains related to the relationship with movement and physical activity throughout life:~i) Why physical literacy matters - improves health, well-being and quality of life.~ii) Understanding physical literacy - value, enjoy and engage in physical activity for life.~iii) Everyone's physical literacy is different - their individual needs and experiences of movement and physical activity.~iv) Building physical literacy - think, feel, move and connect with others. v) How experience affects physical literacy - people, places and spaces around us."

At the end of the baseline stage of this study, each participant of the intervention group will receive a template notebook for daily-based reflective writing. The required columns consist of the daily diet, physical activity, mood and sleep quality. Participants will be required to write down their behavior in this notebook daily. In each week's functional training course, there will be a life-sharing session, where the participants will be reminded to bring their notebooks and share their daily activities with others. They will receive feedback, advice and encouragement from the instructor and each other. The notebook will be collected during the last week of the intervention.

Peer-support groups with buddy members will be arranged in each daycare center. Three pairs of buddies and hence about 6 participants will be formed per group. A total of 6 buddy pairs and 2 groups will be formed per daycare center. Buddy peers will encourage each other to do functional exercises regularly or to perform functional exercises together. The time and place for the practice will be decided among buddy members. A member in each group will be nominated as the leader to assist in the liaison and coordination of group activities. The group will perform weekly group-based functional exercises, and the time and place for the practice will be decided among group members. The group will be encouraged to hold monthly gatherings with their fitness instructor in order to strengthen social support.