Enhancing the Physical Activity Levels of Frail Older Adults with a Wearable Activity Tracker-Based Exercise Intervention: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Justina Y. W. Liu, Rick Y. C. Kwan, Yue-Heng Yin, Paul H. Lee, Judy Yuen-man Siu and Xue Bai
Additional contact information
Justina Y. W. Liu: School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Rick Y. C. Kwan: School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Yue-Heng Yin: School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Paul H. Lee: Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Judy Yuen-man Siu: Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Xue Bai: Research Institute for Smart Ageing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-23

Abstract: A wearable activity tracker (WAT) incorporated with behavioral change techniques (BCTs) increases physical activity in younger adults; however, its effectiveness with frail older adults is unknown. The feasibility and preliminary effects of a WAT-based exercise intervention to increase physical activity levels in frail older adults was investigated in this pilot study involving 40 community-dwelling frail older adults. The experimental group received a 14-week WAT-based group exercise intervention and a 3-month follow-up, while the control group only received similar physical training and all BCTs. The recruitment rate was 93%, and the average attendance rate was 85.2% and 82.2% in the WAT and control groups, respectively, establishing feasibility. Adherence to wearing the WAT was 94.2% and 92% during the intervention and follow-up periods, respectively. A significant interaction effect between time and group was found in all physical assessments, possibly lasting for 3 months post-intervention. However, no significant difference between groups was observed in any daily activity level by the ActiGraph measurement. The majority of the WAT group’s ActiGraph measurements reverted to baseline levels at the 1-month follow-up. Thus, the WAT-based exercise program has potential for employment among community-dwelling frail older adults, but sustaining the effects after the intervention remains a major challenge.

Keywords: frailty; physical activity; wearable activity tracker; cluster-RCT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10344/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10344/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:19:p:10344-:d:647744

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().