About the seminar
Maintaining the health and mobility of an ageing population is a significant challenge. Physical activity offers a useful and cost-effective strategy to achieve this goal as it can prevent and ameliorate the impact of various chronic conditions. Cycling is a non-weight-bearing type of physical activity that is suitable for older adults. It has also the potential to be incorporated into their daily routine and is linked to improvement in the quality of life by widening social networks. Despite these benefits, cycling is rarely considered as a strategy to improve the mobility and social connectedness of older people, particularly in the Australian context. Latest data indicate that participation among those aged 50 and over is markedly lower than younger age and that the level of participation remained almost unchanged over the last decade or so. Findings from a study that has investigated facilitators and barriers to cycling in Australians aged 50 years and over will be presented.
About the presenter
Associate Professor Soufiane Boufous is an injury epidemiologist and a transport safety researcher. His research focuses on developing innovative methods of assessing the burden and risk factors of trauma, particularly in relation to road crashes. He has conducted large cohort studies and randomised trials to examine risk factors of road trauma and evaluate the impact of preventive strategies. Cycling safety, prevention of trauma and mobility in older people are specific research areas where Soufiane has been active over the last few years.