Barriers and facilitators to older adults’ engagement in healthy aging initiatives

Objectives. To identify the facilitators and barriers to older adults’ participation in healthy aging or cardiovascular rehabilitation programs. Methods. We conducted a scoping review to identify healthy aging program evaluations which identified participant barriers and facilitators. We developed a search strategy in the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycInfo, and Cochrane CENTRAL, all on the Ovid platform and Ebsco CINAHL.Results. We included 17 articles in this review. Our team categorized the barriers and facilitators of older adults’ participation in healthy aging programs into seven themes: attitudes, organizational structure, accessibility, social structure, knowledge, demographics, and program specifics.Conclusions. Understanding the facilitators and barriers that older adults face when deciding whether or not to participate or to continue participating in, healthy aging programs to promote in, cardiovascular health can help healthcare professionals provide optimal guidance for their patients and clients.