Exploring the feasibility, sustainability and the benefits of the GrACE + GAIT exercise programme in the residential aged care setting

PeerJ

article

Samantha Fien¹  Tim Henwood³  Mike Climstein⁴  Evelyne Rathbone²  Justin W.L. Keogh² 

[1] School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity;Health Science and Medicine, Bond University;Southern Cross Care;School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University;Water Based Research Unit, Bond University;Physical Activity, Lifestyle, Ageing and Wellbeing Faculty Research Group, University of Sydney;Human Potential Centre, Auckland University of Technology;Kasturba Medical College

关键词: Ageing;    Walking;    Geriatrics;    Resistance training;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6973

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe feasibility and benefits of a 24-week targeted progressive supervised resistance and weight-bearing exercise programme (Group Aged Care Exercise + GAIT (GrACE + GAIT)) in the residential aged care (RAC) setting was investigated as very little peer-reviewed research has been conducted in relation to exercise programmes of this duration in this cohort.MethodsA quasi-experimental study design consisting of two groups (control and exercise) explored a 24-week targeted progressive supervised resistance and weight-bearing exercise programme (GrACE + GAIT) in two RAC facilities in Northern New South Wales, Australia. A total of 42 adults consented to participate from a total of 68 eligible residents (61.7%). The primary outcome measures were feasibility and sustainability of the exercise programme via intervention uptake, session adherence, attrition, acceptability and adverse events. Secondary measures included gait speed and the spatio-temporal parameters of gait, handgrip muscle strength and sit to stand performance.ResultsTwenty-three residents participated in the exercise intervention (mean (SD) 85.4 (8.1) years, 15 females) and 19 in the control group (87.4 (6.6) years 13 females). Exercise adherence was 79.3%, with 65% of exercise participants attending ≥70% of the sessions; 100% of those originally enrolled completed the programme and strongly agreed with the programme acceptability. Zero exercise-related adverse events were reported. ANCOVA results indicated that post-intervention gait speed significantly increased (p < 0.001) with an 18.8% increase in gait speed (m/s).DiscussionThe GrACE + GAIT programme was shown to be feasible and significantly improve adults living in RAC facilities gait speed, handgrip strength and sit to stand performance. These results suggest that the GrACE + GAIT programme is suitable for use in the RAC sector and that it has the potential to reduce disability and improve function and quality of life of the residents.

【 授权许可】

CC BY