Treadmill Walking Capacity among Older Adults in Assisted Living Settings: A pilot, feasibility study

Older Adults;Treadmill Walking;Kinesiology

Johnson, Jenna

University of Waterloo

关键词: Older Adults;    Treadmill Walking;    Kinesiology;   

Others  :  https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/4632/1/JJohnson_MSc_Defense_Aug_27_2009.pdf

瑞士|英语

来源: UWSPACE Waterloo Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

Background: Decreased physical activity levels are an increasing concern, specifically for theaging population. Older adults (>65 years) are able to achieve health benefits from participatingin a regular exercise program based on studies done in younger community-dwelling olderadults. However, there is less research investigating the efficacy of exercise for improvingphysical function among the older adult population in assisted living settings. Barriers among theresearch that has been done so far include generalizability, specificity and varying exerciseprescription details. The present study investigated the novel idea of using a treadmill with aharness system, to engage older adults in aerobic exercise. It is unknown if it is feasible to recruitand retain older adults in assisted living settings for such a treadmill study and if older adultswould be able to achieve intensities associated with health benefits.Objectives: To determine the feasibility of recruitment and retention of older adults in an assistedliving facility for a pilot treadmill walking study. Secondary objectives include: to identifydeterminants of participation and compliance with the treadmill study and to determine if theolder adult population in assisted living settings are able to achieve exercise intensities alignedwith established guidelines that are associated with health benefits.Design and Setting: Pilot, multi-visit feasibility study in an Assisted Living Facility in theKitchener-Waterloo Region with care needs ranging from Retirement Home to Palliative CarePopulation: Older adults (>65y) living in an assistive living facility who could follow two-stepcommands and were able to walk two metres independently (with or without the use of an aid).Methods: The feasibility of recruitment and retention was determined by recording: the numberof older adults who consented to participate in treadmill walking for three weeks; the number ofolder adults (and/or their legal representatives) who declined treadmill participation and reasonsas to why; and the number of participants who completed the six treadmill sessions. Healthrelatedand demographic characteristics were collected to characterize the population while age,number of co-morbidities, number of medications, cognition, fear of falling and walking abilitywere evaluated as potential determinants of participation. A detailed attendance log was used toassess compliance with the study. To determine if participants could achieve the recommendedexercise intensity associated with health benefits, exercise intensity (40 %HRR) and duration(twenty minutes) achieved after the final treadmill session were reported.Results: Thirty percent of the residents on the eligibility list were recruited and consented toparticipate in the treadmill study. Average compliance was 94.4%±10.8%; one treadmillparticipant dropped out due to declining health. There are no significant differences betweentreadmill participants and those who chose not to walk on the treadmill. Treadmill participantswere able to achieve the recommended intensity (40%HRR) and achieved an average intensity of50.3% ± 30.2% and a frequency of three sessions in one week. Average total duration wasapproximately five minutes shy (14:53min ± 6:43min) of the recommendation of twentyminutes.Conclusion: The current study provides preliminary evidence that it is feasible to recruit andretain older adults in assisted living facilities to participate in a three week treadmill walkingstudy, however it may be difficult to recruit a large number of individuals for a larger study.Treadmill participants were able to achieve ACSM’s recommended intensity and frequency foraerobic or endurance exercise. Secondly, the older adult population living in assisted settingsmay be able to achieve the recommended exercise prescription targets for cardiovasculartraining, specifically intensity and frequency; however they may need more than three weeks ofprogression or multiple sessions per day to obtain the recommended duration.