Using function-focused care to increase physical activity among older adults

Despite the known benefits of physical activity for older adults, adherence to regular physical activity recommendations is poor. Less than half of adults in this country meet physical activity recommendations with reasons for lack of adherence including such things as access, motivation, pain, fear, comorbidities, among others. To overcome these challenges, function-focused care was developed. Function-focused care is a philosophy of care that focuses on evaluating the older adult's underlying capability with regard to function and physical activity and helping him or her optimize and maintain physical function and ability and continually increase time spent in physical activity. Examples of function-focused care include such things as using verbal cues during bathing, so the older individual performs the tasks rather than the caregiver bathing the individual; walking a resident or patient to the bathroom rather than using a urinal, or taking a resident to an exercise class. There are now over 20 studies supporting the benefits of function-focused care approaches across all settings and different types of patient groups (i.e, those with mild versus moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment). The approaches for implementation of function-focused care have also been well supported and have moved beyond establishing effectiveness to considering dissemination and implementation of this approach into real world clinical settings. The process of dissemination and implementation has likewise been articulated and supported, and ongoing work needs to continue in this venue across all care settings.