Promoting Seniors' Health With Home Care Aides: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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.