Research Exploring Physical Activity in Care Homes (REACH): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Intervention Studies

Background:

• Increasing life expectancy and an aging population drive demand for long-term care.
• Sedentary lifestyles in care homes are a major preventable cause of death.
• Physical activity interventions can improve physical, psychological health, and quality of life for residents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and preliminarily test an evidence-based intervention to increase physical activity in care home residents.
• To assess the feasibility of a future large-scale trial.
• To gather data for health economic analysis and inform research procedures.

Main Methods:

• A cluster randomised feasibility trial involving 12 care homes in Yorkshire, UK.
• Homes randomized 1:1 to intervention plus usual care or usual care alone.
• Assessments at baseline and 3, 6, 9 months covering physical activity, function, cognition, mood, wellbeing, quality of life, staff experience, adverse events, and NHS usage.
• Embedded process evaluation to assess intervention acceptability and theory of change.

Main Results:

• Feasibility data collected to inform a future large-scale trial.
• Valuable insights into research procedures in a challenging population.
• Intervention acceptability and effectiveness data gathered for future development.

Conclusions:

• This feasibility trial provides essential data for designing a future definitive trial.
• The study addresses the critical need to increase physical activity among care home residents.
• Findings will guide improvements in the health and wellbeing of older adults in long-term care settings.