Helping us to understand how we can engage and maintain older adults in exercise classes.
We are writing to ask you to help us in a research project which is looking at 'what makes successful exercise classes for older adults'. The study is part of a PhD funded by the Medical Research Council. The study at this stage simply involves you completing a questionnaire which will take you approx 15 minutes. If you would like to be involved further in the study you will be ask to confirm this at the end of the questionnaire. It is totally voluntary and you do not have to complete the questionnaire. However, it would be extremely useful for the researchers to get as many responses as possible from a wide range of people so as to ensure findings are representative.
All you have to do is complete the questionnaire and send it back to us in the self addressed and stamped envelope or follow the link on the University of Manchester webpage and complete the questionnaire online. Your training provider may send you repeat information on the study as you are not identifiable to us. If this is the case, please ignore this if you have completed the questionnaire or you do not feel that you want to complete the questionnaire. It is expected that this research will enable us to improve the uptake and maintenance of classes by older adults.
We are contacting all instructors across the U.K who have recognised qualifications to deliver exercises to older adults. Before you decide whether or not you would like to participate it is important for you to understand in more detail why the research is being done. Please take the time to read the enclosed information sheet carefully and to discuss it with others if you wish. Please contact the research team if there is anything which is not clear or if you would like more information (contact details are available at the end of the information sheet).
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and considering taking part in this research.
Yours sincerely
Helen Hawley