A Home-Based Exercise Program Driven by Tablet Application and Mobility Monitoring for Frail Older Adults: Feasibility and Practical Implications

Details

• Journal Article:
  Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
• Personal Author:
  Geraedts, Hilde A.E. ; Zijlstra, Wiebren ; Zhang, Wei ; Spoorenberg, Sophie L.W. ; Báez, Marcos ; Far, Iman Khaghani ; Baldus, Heribert ; Stevens, Martin
• Description:
  Introduction
  
  Stimulation of a physically active lifestyle among older adults is essential to health and well-being. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and user opinion of a home-based exercise program supported by a sensor and tablet application for frail older adults.
  
  Methods
  
  Community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥70 y) living in The Netherlands were recruited in 2014. Participants exercised 3 months with and 3 months without supervision from a remote coach. Feasibility was operationalized as adherence to exercise (percentage of 5 exercise bouts per week completed) and to wearing the sensor (with 70% defined as sufficient adherence) and the number of problems reported. User opinion was measured with a questionnaire addressing ease of use of the technology and opinion on the program.
  
  Results
  
  Twenty-one of 40 enrolled participants completed the trial. Adherence overall was 60.9% (average of 3 bouts per week). Adherence among completers (69.2%) was significantly higher than adherence among dropouts (49.9%). Adherence was sufficient among completers during the 3 months of supervision (75.8%). Adherence to wearing the sensor was 66.7% and was significantly higher among completers than among dropouts (75.7% vs 54.2%). The rate of incidents was significantly lower among completers than among dropouts (0.4 vs 1.2 incidents per participant per week). Connectivity-related incidents were prominent. On a scale of 1 to 5, completers gave ratings of 4.3 (after 3 months) and 4.2 (after 6 months).
  
  Conclusion
  
  A home-based exercise program using novel technology seems feasible when participants are given a stable internet connection. This program shows promise for stimulating physical activity among older frail adults, especially if it offers regular coaching.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Aged Aged, 80 And Over Computers, Handheld Exercise Female Frail Elderly Humans Male Monitoring, Physiologic
• Source:
  Prev Chronic Dis. 14.
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd14.160227
• ISSN:
  1545-1151
• Pubmed ID:
  28152361
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5303650
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  14
• Collection(s):
  Preventing Chronic Disease
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:83f3622570c52be37c075bcdd0e76033982cdb36f81562a2de7b260bc74a490e07f1312962ddc0d6f164b99163fd999fdb61b62399340f304ecfd9568e41151d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/44185/cdc_44185_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 336.33 KB ]