“It Wasn’t Like We Expected”: Analyzing (Non-)Participation of Family Caregivers of People With Dementia in Sports Activities From Different Perspectives

Abstract

Family caregivers of people with dementia represent a physically and psychologically burdened target group, which can benefit from offers of health promotion, but rarely use existing services. This article deals with the motives and conditions that induce this target group to be (not) active in sports. For this purpose, the perspectives of family caregivers and local sports clubs in Germany are compared to uncover similarities and discrepancies with the aim of developing target group-specific health promotion services. Results were classified into three dimensions for (non-)participation in sports activities. People who participated in sports club programs generally confirmed its positive effects. Among other things, the sports clubs and family caregivers surveyed emphasized the compatibility of the care situation with possible leisure activities as very important components for (non-)participation. The results show that the subjective health attitudes must be taken into account in the design of health promotion offers.