Intrinsic Capacity, Resilience, and Meaning in Life in Community-Dwelling Midlife and Older Adults

NCT07687563 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: NYCU115074A
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 120
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This prospective observational cohort (panel) study aims to understand how intrinsic capacity, resilience, and meaning in life are related and how they change over time in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults who participate in community center programs in Taiwan. Intrinsic capacity is a concept proposed by the World Health Organization to describe an older person's overall physical and mental abilities, while resilience refers to the ability to bounce back from difficulties, and meaning in life refers to how people feel that their lives are valuable and purposeful. Participants aged 55 years and older will be recruited from collaborating community centers. They will be assessed twice: once at the beginning of their participation in community center programs (baseline) and again at the end of the current community center program (follow-up), which usually occurs about 3 to 6 months after baseline as part of the centers' usual schedule, without any intervention assigned by the study. At each time point, participants will complete assessments of intrinsic capacity, resilience, meaning in life, and sociodemographic background, and will undergo brief physical performance tests, such as walking-related and strength-related measures. At the follow-up assessment, a small number of participants will also be selected and invited to take part in semi-structured qualitative interviews about meaning in life. The main hypotheses are that intrinsic capacity, resilience, and meaning in life will change over time; that intrinsic capacity will be positively associated with meaning in life; and that resilience may mediate the relationship between intrinsic capacity and meaning in life. Sociodemographic information will be collected for descriptive analysis and to describe the sample, but it is not specified as a study variable in the hypothesis framework. In addition, the study will use supplementary physical function measures to better understand how the locomotion domain of intrinsic capacity is reflected by different mobility assessments. A small subsample of participants will be invited to take part in qualitative interviews to enrich and contextualize the observed associations between intrinsic capacity and meaning in life. These interviews are intended to provide a more complete understanding of this relationship and to reflect participants' lived experiences, rather than to establish causal relationships. This study seeks to address the limited longitudinal evidence on the association between intrinsic capacity and meaning in life in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. The findings are expected to help people better understand how these constructs are related over time and to provide useful information for planning community-based programs that support healthy aging.

Conditions

Healthy Ageing; Community-dwelling Older Adults

Keywords

Intrinsic Capacity; Meaning in Life; Resilience; Healthy Aging; community-dwelling older adults

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Intrinsic Capacity Score

  Intrinsic capacity will be assessed using the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) function assessment tool adapted by the Health Promotion Administration in Taiwan. Each of the six intrinsic capacity domains will be converted into a binary score (1 = preserved or normal capacity; 0 = impaired capacity or requiring further assessment according to predefined criteria). The six unweighted domain scores will be summed to generate an overall intrinsic capacity score ranging from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating better preservation of intrinsic capacity and lower scores indicating more domains with impairment or concern. This outcome will be used to examine the level and temporal stability of intrinsic capacity over the observation period.

  Baseline (T0) and follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

• Meaning in Life Score

  Meaning in life will be assessed using the Traditional Chinese version of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. The questionnaire contains 10 items and includes two 5-item subscales: presence of meaning and search for meaning. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale, and subscale scores range from 5 to 35, with higher scores indicating a greater level of the corresponding meaning in life dimension. This outcome will be used to examine the level and temporal stability of meaning in life over the observation period.

  Baseline (T0) and follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

• Resilience Score

  Resilience will be assessed using the Chinese version of the Brief Resilience Scale. The scale contains 6 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale, and the mean item score will be calculated, with higher scores indicating greater resilience. This outcome will be used to examine the level and temporal stability of resilience over the observation period.

  Baseline (T0) and follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

• Association of Baseline Intrinsic Capacity With Follow-up Meaning in Life

  This outcome will examine whether intrinsic capacity at T0 is associated with meaning in life at T1 after adjustment for baseline meaning in life. The strength and direction of this longitudinal association will be estimated using regression analysis.

  From baseline (T0) to follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

• Association of Baseline Intrinsic Capacity With Follow-up Resilience

  This outcome will examine whether intrinsic capacity at T0 is associated with resilience at T1 after adjustment for baseline resilience. The strength and direction of this longitudinal association will be estimated using regression analysis.

  From baseline (T0) to follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

• Association of Baseline Resilience With Follow-up Meaning in Life

  This outcome will examine whether resilience at T0 is associated with meaning in life at T1 after adjustment for baseline meaning in life. The strength and direction of this longitudinal association will be estimated using regression analysis.

  From baseline (T0) to follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

• Association of Follow-up Resilience With Follow-up Meaning in Life

  This outcome is the correlation coefficient representing the cross-sectional relationship between resilience and meaning in life at T1. Resilience at T1 will be measured using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS; 6 items, 5-point Likert scale, mean score range 1 to 5). Meaning in life at T1 will be measured using the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; 10 items, 7-point Likert scale, subscale scores range 5 to 35). The strength and direction of the relationship between the BRS score and the MLQ scores at T1 will be estimated using correlation analysis.

  Follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Mediating Effect of Resilience on the Association Between Intrinsic Capacity and Meaning in Life

  From baseline (T0) to follow-up at approximately 3 to 6 months (T1)

Study Arms (1)

Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Adults aged 55 years and older who participate in community center programs in Taiwan and are followed from baseline (before course participation) to follow-up (after course completion).

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 55 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community-dwelling adults aged 55 years and older who participate in senior learning and leisure courses at collaborating community care stations in Taiwan will be recruited. Participants are recruited from collaborating community-based settings rather than hospitals or long-term care facilities. Eligible participants must be able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese and independently complete questionnaire assessments and brief physical performance tests at both baseline and follow-up.

You may qualify if:

• Community-dwelling adults aged 55 years and older.
• Currently participating in community center senior learning program at collaborating community .
• Able to attend at least five course sessions during the current program period.
• Able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese.
• Willing and able to provide informed consent and to complete questionnaires and physical performance tests at both baseline (T0) and follow-up (T1).

You may not qualify if:

• Visual or hearing impairments that prevent effective communication or completion of study assessments.
• Cognitive or communication impairments that prevent understanding of study information or completion of questionnaires.
• Any medical or functional condition judged by the research team to make participation in the physical performance tests unsafe.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University: lead

Study Sites (1)

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Nursing Building Room 504A

Taipei, Nursing Building, No.155, Sec.2, Li-Nong Street,, 112, Taiwan

Location

Study Officials

• Heng-Hsin Tung, PhD, RN

  National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Heng-Hsin Tung, PhD, RN

CONTACT

+886-2-28267000; henghsin@nycu.edu.tw

Kai-Yi Hong, Bachelor of Science in Nursing

CONTACT

+886-0983-033-607; waynelou0317.ns14@nycu.edu.tw

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 22, 2026
• First Posted: July 7, 2026
• Study Start: July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 28, 2027
• Last Updated: July 7, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TW (1)