Promoting Seniors' Health With Home Care Aides

University of Illinois

Status: Completed

Conditions: Muscle Weakness

Treatments: Behavioral: Active Mind for Aging Well (Active Mind); Behavioral: Healthy Moves for Aging Well (Healthy Moves)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03301116

R01AG053675 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

2016-0689

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to test whether a safe physical activity program with a built-in motivational enhancement component, performed in a seated position, preserves the function and well-being of older home care clients.

Full description

Regular physical activity benefits older adults physically and mentally. However, the availability and the evidence for physical activity programs that are safe and appropriate for home-bound older adults at risk for nursing home admission are limited. The current project aims to examine the effectiveness of a safe physical activity program, led by home care aides who regularly help hard-to-reach older home care clients with housekeeping and routine personal care services in the home. The primary aim is to test whether the safe physical activity program with a built-in motivational enhancement component, performed in a seated position, preserves the function and well-being of home care clients. The secondary aim is to understand for whom the program is efficacious, the extent to which the program can reach the target population, the extent to which participants drop out of the program, the extent to which program participants maintain the behavioral change introduced by the intervention, and what the program's cost-effectiveness is. Building on a pilot project that demonstrated the program's feasibility in a large home care program funded by the state and Medicaid, this randomized controlled trial will inform future expansion of the physical activity program into real-world home care settings.

Enrollment: 157 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 60 to 110 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

HOME CARE CLIENTS

Inclusion Criteria:

• English or Spanish-speaking older adults aged 60+
• Receiving Illinois Department on Aging Community Care Program In-Home service from the collaborating home care agency
• Able to sit in a chair independently for >=15 minutes (it is fine if the person needs help with transferring to a chair)
• Cognitive status sufficient to follow directions and respond to survey questions as determined by the Six-Item Screener (Callahan, et al., 2002) (the instrument used in the phone screening) and the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) Examination (the instrument used in the in-home screening)
• Willing to be assigned to either intervention program
• Willing to have the research team notify the primary care physician of the client's study participation

Exclusion Criteria:

• Having a legal guardian appointed
• Bedridden or unable to sit in a chair independently
• Receiving hospice care or having a terminal diagnosis
• Self-reported inability to read large print books

HOME CARE AIDES

Inclusion Criteria:

• English or Spanish-speaking home care aide caring for an older home care client eligible for the study
• Age 18 and older
• Willing to implement the intervention program routine with their eligible client(s) for the full 4 months
• Willing to be randomly assigned to either intervention program
• Intend to be a home care aide for the next 12 months

Exclusion Criteria

• Not having a home care client who participates in the study

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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157 participants in 2 patient groups

Healthy Moves

Experimental group

Description:

Home care aides (HCAs) will be trained to deliver Healthy Moves for Aging Well (Healthy Moves), a gentle physical activity program, to their clients. On the first home care visit after the training, HCAs will introduce the program, assess their clients' readiness for the activity and have their clients set personally meaningful goals, and teach the three chair-bound moves. Home care clients will be asked to do the three moves every day. HCAs remind clients of their activity as part of their regular home care visits throughout the 4-month intervention period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Healthy Moves for Aging Well (Healthy Moves)

Active Mind

Active Comparator group

Description:

Home care aides (HCAs) will be trained to deliver Active Mind for Aging Well (Active Mind), a gentle thinking activity program, to their clients. On the first home care visit after the training, HCAs will introduce the program, assess their clients' readiness for the activity and have their clients set personally meaningful goals, and teach the activity. Home care clients will be asked to do a word search puzzle every day. HCAs remind clients of their activity as part of their regular home care visits throughout the 4-month intervention period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Active Mind for Aging Well (Active Mind)