The project ‘STOP AGEING - Counteract Functional Decline Through Velocity-Controlled Strength Training’ funded by the EEA Grants Bilateral Relations Fund, is developed by Department of Sport Sciences: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences – University of Beira Interior, through Professor Daniel Marinho’s team.
This project constitutes a bilateral initiative over the consortium led by University of Beira Interior (UBI), which incorporates Portugal, through UBI and also through Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Fundão entity, and incorporates Norway through Nord University, in Bodo – Norway.
The above-mentioned bilateral initiative aims at the preservation and the improvement of the eldery people in care homes’ functional ability and cognitive activity along the deployment of innovative strength trainings programmes in Portugal and Norway.
This is a quite innovative project through the way in which is deployed and executed, on this bilateral initiative context. The number of eldery people in care homes participants are around 80 women and 40 men.
This training programme intents to stimulate the social contact and new experiences sharing among all the participants.
In Portugal and in Norway, this bilateral initiave has, as its main goal, to promote the physical exercise pratice on a regular basis for eldery people in care homes and/or in day care centres at Cova da Beira portuguese region and at Bodo norwegian region.
This iniciative also defines the following specific goals:
- To improve the functional ability through the strength and muscular power optimization;
- To prevent falls from occurring;
- To stimulate the cognitive activity;
- To promote social inclusion;
- To raise awareness of eldery people population to the extreme seriousness of practising a physical activity on a daily basis;
- To present feasible solutions, like, for instance, online training sessions during social isolation (quarantine) periods of time.
Beyond Professor Daniel Marinho, UBI team work consists of Professors: Mário Marques, Henrique Neiva, Ricardo Ferraz and the PhD student Diogo Marques, all from Department of Sport Sciences.
The Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Fundão team work integrates the socio-cultural entertainers/physical exercise technicians: César Serrão and Cláudia Andresson, as well as the technical coordinator Alice Rosa.
From Nord University, in Bodo – Norway, the team has Professor Roland van den Tillaar and his technicians.
About EEA Grants:
Through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), the countries: Iceland, o Liechtenstein and Norway are partners on the internal market with the European Union state members.
In order to boost a continuous and balanced strengthening of the economic and trade relations, the parties to this agreement have stablished a multianual Financial Mechanism um Mecanismo Financeiro plurianual, known as EEA Grants.
EEA Grants have, as its main targets, to reduce social and economic disparities in Europe as well as to strengthen the bilateral relations between these three countries and the beneficiary countries.
For the period 2014-2021, it was agreed a 2.8 billion euros contribution for the 15 beneficiary countries. Portugal benefits from a 102.7 million euros amount.