Conference Agenda

Purpose: The GESTALT – Get 10 project aims to scale-up a physical activity (PA) program within municipal prevention practice. It targets older adults who are inactive or engage in very little PA, and combines different forms of exercise with social and cognitive approaches. Results of scaling-up the PA program in ten municipalities in Bavaria (Germany) from 2020 to 2024 are presented below.

Methods: The evidence-based GESTALT-PA program was systematically provided to participating municipalities through a participatory approach. Local scale-up was primarily coordinated by municipal coordinators, who supported knowledge integration, resource management, and program delivery. The program was delivered by specially trained exercise instructors. Scale-up and implementation were evaluated using standardized questionnaires completed by the coordinators after the funding phase and analysed by the research team.

Results: Over the course of the project the GESTALT-PA program was scaled-up in all ten municipalities. Specifically, 45 GESTALT-PA initial courses and 44 follow-up courses were implemented. In addition, 23 new PA initiatives were established. Overall, 74 exercise instructors were educated to implement the programme, also five supervisors were additionally qualified to educate future instructors. Twelve months after the end of the funding period, the GESTALT-PA program continued and was partly scaled up, albeit to varying extents.

Conclusion: Through the targeted provision and training of local exercise instructors, the program was successfully implemented and scaled up across the planned region and partly beyond. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which the program was successfully transferred to neighbouring municipalities and sustainably established there.