The project “Activities for Seniors in the Czech-Saxon Border Region” used various cognitive and physical tests in the summer of 2014 to assess the physical and mental fitness of approximately 80 senior men and women each from the Görlitz district and the Liberec region.

On September 26, 2014, and November 14, 2014, meetings between German and Czech participants took place in Liberec. During these excursions, surveys were conducted to gauge the sentiments of the participants from the Görlitz district. The survey focused primarily on their interest and willingness to participate in such a study again. A total of 33 of the tested individuals took part in the survey. The majority of respondents learned about the project through the newspaper or the organization in which they are active. Until then, none of the respondents had participated in such a study or a similar one. Most participants felt good about being well informed prior to the tests. A clear majority of respondents were “satisfied” to “very satisfied” with the overall organization of the tests. More than half of the older adults surveyed were also “satisfied” to “very satisfied” with how the various testing stations were conducted. When asked if they would participate in such a study again, the vast majority responded positively. Almost all respondents would also recommend that their friends or family members participate in such a project.

On December 3, a meeting of the project partners took place, during which the administration of the tests and the initial test results were discussed together with all the student assistants. It became apparent that the participants from the Görlitz district were slightly fitter than those from the Liberec district in terms of cognitive and physical measurements, and that the participants from the Liberec district had good cholesterollevels than the German seniors, who, in contrast, had a lower incidence of diabetes. The overall sentiment among the students who supervised the individual stations during the test was very positive. From an organizational standpoint, it was noted that the test procedure could still be optimized in terms of scheduling and communication among the stations.

On December 10 and 11, the project teams gathered in Heřmanice for a further evaluation meeting to discuss the implementation of the entire project as well as next steps, and to once again explore the possibilities for expanding the project to include a larger number of participants or a long-term study. Both sides are interested in further collaboration, and suitable funding options are now being sought. The project’s final report, which will include all results and be made available to participants and all interested parties, is scheduled to be completed by March 2015.