Improving Physical Activity of Older People in Community Through Trained Volunteers: the ImPACt Study

NCT04672200 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 52967
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Research question is can volunteers be trained to deliver an exercise programme for community-dwelling older people attending community clubs and is the intervention acceptable to older people and volunteers? Physical activity is important for older adults and studies have shown the benefits of physical activity on health outcomes including maintenance of physical function, improvement in well-being and quality of life, and reduction in mortality risk. A recent report on physical activity guidelines published by the Department of Health and Social Care highlighted the importance of physical activity in healthy ageing. Nonetheless, current evidence suggests that less than 7% of community-dwelling older adults meet the recommended physical activity guideline of 150 minutes of moderate vigorous physical activity per week. A review of current literature suggests some evidence that volunteers can be trained to deliver physical activity interventions for community-dwelling older people. Yet few studies have been conducted in the UK, and there is a knowledge gap in understanding the facilitators and barriers of training volunteers to deliver physical activity interventions for community-dwelling older people. This study aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of implementing volunteer-led exercise classes at local community clubs to encourage older people living in the community to be more active. The investigators aim to develop and evaluate a training programme for volunteers, determine the acceptability of the intervention through qualitative methods and identify facilitators and barriers to its implementation. The investigators will also explore the impact of the intervention on health outcomes for older people to inform future trial.

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior

Keywords

Older adults; Physical activity; Group exercise; Community clubs

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Volunteer training

  The number of volunteers recruited to the study, trained and retained at the end of the study period.

  6 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Physical activity levels

  6 and 12 months

• Quality of life measure

  6 and 12 months

• Physical Function

  6 and 12 months

• Sarcopenia

  6 and 12 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• Volunteer intervention

  2 months after the intervention has started.

Study Arms (1)

Intervention arm

EXPERIMENTAL

This group will receive the weekly group exercise which will be delivered online initially, and in the community clubs once they are allowed to reconvene according to government guidance. The duration of the intervention is 12 weeks.

Other: Group exercise

Interventions

Group exercise OTHER

Weekly group exercises delivered online and face to face

Intervention arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 65 year and above
• Able to walk with or without a walking aid

You may not qualify if:

• Attends existing exercise classes

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Southampton: lead
• Brendoncare: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Academic Geriatric Medicine, University of Southampton

Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 6YD, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Lim SER, Cox NJ, Tan QY, Ibrahim K, Roberts HC. Volunteer-led physical activity interventions to improve health outcomes for community-dwelling older people: a systematic review. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2021 Apr;33(4):843-853. doi: 10.1007/s40520-020-01556-6. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

  PMID: 32356136 BACKGROUND

• Lim SER, Meredith SJ, Agnew S, Clift E, Ibrahim K, Roberts HC. Volunteer-led online group exercise for community-dwelling older people: a feasibility and acceptability study. BMC Geriatr. 2023 Jul 28;23(1):461. doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-04184-7.

  PMID: 37507667 DERIVED

• Lim SER, Meredith S, Agnew S, Clift E, Ibrahim K, Roberts H. Evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of virtual group exercise for older adults delivered by trained volunteers: the ImPACt study protocol. BMJ Open. 2022 Feb 1;12(2):e052631. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052631.

  PMID: 35105576 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior; Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Stephen Lim, PhD

  University of Southampton

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 11, 2020
• First Posted: December 17, 2020
• Study Start: March 3, 2021
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2021
• Study Completion: June 30, 2022
• Last Updated: December 9, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: 10 years
• Access Criteria: Upon request from the university.

Locations

GB (1)