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

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.