Senior Fitness Test Manual
Senior Fitness Test Manual: Easy-to-Use Way of Measuring Fitness Levels in Older Adults by Roberta E. Rikli and C. Jessie Jones. Available from Human Kinetics.
Get Moving Nottingham – LEAP Project
The Local Exercise Action pilot (LEAP) programme was an exciting public health programme funded by the Department of Health, Sport England and the Countryside Agency to test out and evaluate different evidence based ways to increase physical activity levels in the community. Nottingham involved peer mentors in their pilot, read the evaluation here.
Activity Friends – Nottingham
Activity Friends is a volunteer programme for the over 50’s designed to help people achieve a healthier lifestyle through increasing physical activity and befriending to alleviate social isolation. Volunteers are trained as ‘Activity Friends’ who then reach out to their peers in their local community. Support and encouragement is given on a one-to-one or a…
Cotswolds – Mentors to support active living
‘Enjoy Later Life’ is a peer mentor training programme that enables volunteers to work with older people to support independent living. The report will highlight the successes of the training, points for consideration in the subsequent training programmes and opportunities for further development. In addition, this report will highlight the health benefits for the Cotswold…
Physical Activity Motivators and their impact in Kirklees
The Impact of Physical Activity Motivators (PAMS) on the Physical Activity and Leisure Scheme (PALS). The PAM Scheme runs along side the PAL Scheme and gives people who have completed the PALS the opportunity to volunteer to become a PAM and help individuals who are being referred to the programme. The PAMS meet and greet…
Volunteering and Improved Health
Among a number of studies reporting on the benefit of volunteering and
mentoring upon the health of those involved as volunteers, Black and Living
(2004) reported that volunteering appears to exert its effects predominantly
upon mental health.
Further information on publications reporting health improvements in volunteers can be found by clicking here.
Braveheart: Mentors in Forth Valley
Forth Valley: “Braveheart” project: Supporting older people who have had heart attacks. The Braveheart Project is an innovative Ageing Well Health Demonstration Project which has looked at the feasibility and effect of training non-medical senior members of the local community to run mentoring groups to educate, support and empower patients aged 60 years and over…
Mentors help Netherlands Ageing Well programme
The Ageing Well and Healthily (AWH) programme in the Netherlands consists of health education by peers and low intensity exercise taught by a
professional physical activity instructors. Similar to the CHAMPs programme in design. Further information and publications can be found by clicking here.
CHAMPS – Senior Peer Mentoring for active lifestyles
CHAMPS (Community Healthy Activities Model Program For Seniors) is a public health model program to promote increased lifetime physical activity levels of seniors. Substantial scientific evidence supports increased physical activity as a promising approach to improve the health and well-being of seniors. Accordingly, CHAMPS promotes and facilitates physically active lifestyles for seniors. It encourages participants…
Senior Volunteers as Peer Mentors (AJA 2009)
This review, by Peel, published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing in 2009, covers the evidence of effectiveness of peer mentors in falls prevention research. Click here to download.