Evaluation of the Health Benefits of the People With Arthritis Can Exercise Program

Only about 24% of people with arthritis report sufficient physical activity to provide general health benefits. Research has demonstrated that many people with arthritis can safely exercise to improve fitness and health. The People with Arthritis Can Exercise (PACE) program, developed by the Arthritis Foundation, is a land-based recreational physical activity and exercise program. PACE has been offered as a community-based program for over 10 years and small studies have reported benefits for people with arthritis. However, there has been no randomized controlled community trials that evaluate the effectiveness of PACE in the community. The goals of the Evaluation of PACE project are to: (1) appropriately evaluate the AF PACE exercise program, and (2) provide information to support effective content, recruitment and programming. Specific objectives for meeting these goals include:

1. Identify the theoretical foundations and constructs for evaluating the program and select and use appropriate outcome measures;
2. Plan and conduct a randomized controlled trial of 8 and 16 week PACE programs;
3. Perform a qualitative evaluation using focus groups of PACE instructors and participants;
4. Disseminate findings and make recommendations.