Unsupervised Frailty Intervention by Digitalized Exercise Coaching: A Feasibility Study

Multi-component interventions have been demonstrated to be an effective method for the prevention of frailty. Nevertheless, they have not yet been widely adopted in practice due to considerable resource and labor demands associated with their administration. To overcome the limitations, this study aimed to determine the feasibility of unsupervised intervention based on digital therapy. A mobile application has been developed to deliver multi-component exercise coaching to frail older adults. A total of 30 participants (with a mean age of 72.10 ± 4.54 years) were recruited from two community centers and used the mobile application for 12 weeks without supervision. Prior to utilizing the mobile application, each participant received an initial education. Outcomes of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the Korean version of the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses, and Loss of weight (K-FRAIL) scale, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), self-efficacy, and depression, were evaluated before and after using the mobile application. Significant improvements in the mean SPPB score (9.6 ± 1.7 to 11.7 ± 0.5) and depression (3.23 ± 3.08 to 2.00 ± 2.11) were observed. The total adherence rate of all participants was 86.1%. No statistically significant differences were observed in the remaining outcomes. These findings suggest that the unsupervised intervention could be a viable option for older adults.