Evaluation of an adapted physical activity program for older adults.

Summary For 17 years, the social enterprise Siel Bleu has been developing and implementing physical activity programs adapted to the needs of elderly people in institutions, with the aim of promoting active ageing, preventing the risks and chronic diseases associated with ageing and supporting dependency. Siel Bleu works with 80,000 beneficiaries in 4,000 institutions and employs 400 people. In 2012, Siel Bleu, with the support of the European Union and Danone-Ecosystème, set up an evaluation protocol for an adapted physical activity program for residents of retirement homes: HAPPIER (Healthy Activity & Physical Program Innovations in Elderly Residences). The aim was to measure the impact of the program on the residents' quality of life, as well as their cognitive and physical faculties. The protocol also planned to evaluate the effect of the program on the professional quality of life of the nursing and support staff. The challenges of this protocol are linked to the growing importance of the care of elderly and dependent people by specialized residences, due to the increase in life expectancy, particularly in Europe. Faced with this new and massive phenomenon, the quality of life of elderly people living in institutions and the cost of their care are becoming major issues. In this context, we examine the hypothesis of a benefit of sports practice on the general moral and physical health of the elderly, as well as on their risk of falling, the latter being the most serious and most frequent source of health problems among the elderly.