Maintaining Physical Independence in Older Adults

Rehabilitation Enhancing Aging through Connected Health, REACH, is designed to evaluate the benefits of a novel rehabilitative care program on physical function utilizing mobile health technology to deliver patient centered care more efficiently and health care utilization after one year of follow up. Study staff will recruit 76 community dwelling older adult primary care patients. The same procedures that were approved by the IRB for the Boston RISE cohort study. This study was initiated in 2009 and its data is publicly archived. will be used for REACH recruitment, screening and enrollment of potential participants. This process will be centered at Spaulding Cambridge Outpatient Clinic (SCOC). Potential participants will be contacted and a brief phone screen will be conducted. Eligible and interested participants will be scheduled for the consent/screen visit. If the participant consents, the study staff will administer three tests to determine final eligibility for study involvement. These include: Mini Mental Status Exam, the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and the Long Distance Corridor Walk.

Qualified participants will complete all baseline and 1-year assessments at SCOC. The assessments include: the Late Life Function and Disability Index (LLFDI), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Katz Comorbidity, depression (PHQ-9), Activities Specific Balance Scale, Barriers Specific Self-Efficacy Scale, Computer Attitude Scale, McGill Pain Map, Brief Pain Inventory, Figure 8 walk test, grip strength testing, single leg press strength and speed testing, ankle/knee ROM, the trunk extensor endurance test and stair climb power test.

The exercise/technology training with a licensed physical therapist will consist of 8-10 (with the possibility of up to 16 sessions) clinic or home visits interspersed over a 9-month period and will take place after baseline at one of two locations per choice of participant: SCOC or BU Center for Neurorehabilitation. During the clinic/home visits, the assigned exercises are video recorded using the Wellpepper clinician version housed on an iPad mini. During and after the in-person visits, the PTs will remotely monitor exercise adherence, provide feedback, progress the exercise program and answer participants' questions using the chat feature of the exercise app. PT support will be tapered over the course of this 9-month period as the participants become more successful at integrating exercise into their lives using the provided technology. Over the final 3 months of the study, participants will continue to perform exercises independently with reduced PT involvement. PT support will be available through the chat feature if participants have questions or concerns.

Participants will be contacted at quarterly intervals and asked to self-report recent falls, hospitalizations, ER visits and PT (outside of their participation in this study). At 6 months the LLFDI will be administered over the phone. In addition, the PT will perform these performance based assessments during a clinic visit: SPPB, ankle/knee ROM, trunk extensor endurance test and the stair climb power test.

Collaborators at Brandeis University will access CMS claims data for all participants during the year of participation and for an additional six months after study participation ends to evaluate health care utilization and health care costs after 1-year of follow up.