journal articles
EXPLORING BALANCE CHALLENGE IN FALL PREVENTION COMMUNITY EXERCISE PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULTS ACROSS CANADA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ELECTRONIC SURVEY OF INSTRUCTOR PERCEPTIONS
Alison M Bulow, Alexie J Touchette, Alison R Oates, Kathryn M Sibley
J Aging Res & Lifestyle 2026;15
BACKGROUND: Exercise that challenges balance helps reduce falls in older people. Evaluating the intensity of balance challenge is difficult and no validated measures exist for group settings.
OBJECTIVE: To examine how instructors determine and perceive balance challenge at the program level, and explore relationships between estimates of program-level balance challenge.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional self-report study
SETTING: Electronic survey questionnaire approach.
PARTICIPANTS: Instructors of Canadian group exercise programs targeting community-dwelling older adults.
MEASUREMENTS: Instructors perceived program-level balance challenge and estimates of program-level balance challenge.
RESULTS: Most instructors (n = 108, 77%) perceived that their programs fully challenged balance among participants. However, no programs were identified as highly challenging. Most of the observed non-verbal balance challenge behaviours observed (n = 4, 80%) had no relationship to perception of balance challenge.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest a misalignment between instructor perception and estimates of balance challenge at the program level. Further investigations of methods to assess balance challenge are warranted.
CITATION:
Alison M Bulow ; Alexie J Touchette ; Alison R Oates ; Kathryn M Sibley (2025): Exploring balance challenge in fall prevention community exercise programs for older adults across Canada: A cross-sectional electronic survey of instructor perceptions Author links open overlay panel. The Journal of Aging and Lifestyle (JARLife). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarlif.2025.100046