Sure. I'd be pleased to let you know that the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging has been doing extensive work with Vancouver Coastal Health and the other health authorities in British Columbia to translate some of the knowledge from various studies we've done, primarily in care facilities, to help to maintain and restore the functional abilities of frail older people living in care facilities in British Columbia.
Instead of those regional health authorities reinventing the wheel, they looked at who was doing research, brought in the people who've done the research, applied it, and trained the staff. So you'd be happy to know they're not reinventing the wheel; they're actually looking at where the research is and putting it into place. I commend Vancouver Coastal Health for that direction.
As far as your question goes, how can you make physical activity more fun, I would add, how can you make it more enjoyable so that people actually stick to the program? All of us in this room, whether we're older people or not, know what the health benefits of physical activity are. We might even know where to go, what to do, and so on, but sticking to the program, the adherence, is the tough part.
Certainly incorporating a spoonful of sugar, a recreational component to make it somewhat enjoyable for the older person, is essential to keep them coming, but what's critical is that they become aware of what the functional gains of the program are for them specifically, and that over time the program does not become a recreational diversion, especially if the outcome of the program is intended to help the person maintain or restore their functional gains.
That's where many programs nationally fall short. They start off as evidence-based programs, and then they're reduced to recreational fun: let's everybody sit in a circle and have a good time. So that messaging to older people has to be clear. I think that recreational component is critical but shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of the physical activity intervention.