Perception on Physical Activity for the Elderly among Secondary School Teachers in Enugu State of Nigeria

Abstract

In recognition of the need for people to appreciate that functional ability enables well-being in older age, the researcher embarked upon a descriptive survey study to determine the perception on Physical Activity (PA) for the elderly, among Secondary School Teachers in Enugu State, Nigeria. Three research questions and six hypotheses guided the study. The population for the study was 7,972 Secondary School teachers while the sample for the study was 1,071 secondary school teachers drawn from the 293 Government owned Secondary Schools in the six Education Zones in Enugu State, through a multistage sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire. Frequency, percentage and mean were used to answer the research questions, while chi-square and t-test statistics were respectively were used to test the applicable hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings from the study revealed that secondary school teachers in Enugu State of Nigeria had low perception on the benefits and forms of physical activities for the elderly, but had high perception on the factors associated with elderly’s participation in physical activities in Enugu State. There are no significant differences in the teachers’ perception on benefits of physical activity, forms of physical activity and factors associated with participation in physical activity, based on gender. Although, location did not significantly influence the teachers’ perception on benefits and forms of physical activity for the elderly, but it significantly influenced the teachers’ perception on factors associated with participation in physical activities by the elderly. Some recommendations were made, including that: Stakeholders should design educational and social programmes that are aimed at improving people’s perception on the relationship between physical activity and healthy ageing.