Paper
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Physical, Psychological, and Demographic Factors Related to Exercise Adherence in Frail Elders
Beverly L. Roberts, RN, PhD, FAAN1, Shirley M. Moore, RN, PhD1, Robert Palmer, MD2, and Yaewon Seo, MSN1. (1) Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA, (2) Geriatrics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe the factors that predict the likelihood of exercising at a frequency and duration known to have beneficial physical and psychological effects |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify the role of gender and ethnicity in the factors associated with exercising at beneficial levels |
Many older adults do not exercise at least 3 or more times/week for 8 or more weeks that has been associated with positive physical and psychological benefits. Factors associated with this exercise pattern are important in enabling the clinician to identify those most likely to exercise at this level and may provide guidance for interventions to increase exercise participation. In a randomized clinical trial, 108 participants (M=78 years; 70-91; and 69 white and 39 Black) were randomly assigned to a 12-week muscle strengthening exercise. The 37 men and 71 women were dependent in <=3 ADLS while hospitalized or =<3 IADLs before admission, and began the exercise in the hospital. Significantly more Blacks exercised 8 or fewer weeks than 9 or more weeks (72% and 28%, respectively) while nearly equal proportions of white subjects exercised at these levels (52% and 48%, respectively). Nearly equal proportions of men and women exercised at each of these 2 levels (59% <=8 weeks and 41% >8 weeks ). No significant gender or ethnic differences were found on hospital physical factors (gait, balance, muscle strength, dependencies in activities of daily living) and psychological factors (depression and motivation for exercise). A significant logistic regression model to predict the likelihood of adhering to exercise at this level (Chi square = 15.5, p < .02), being white, lower depression and greater motivation significantly increased the likelihood of exercising at this level (B = 1.0, -.22 and .03, respectively). The logistic model correctly predicted 81.6% of the subjects exercising =>3 times/week for more than 8 weeks and 63% of those exercising less frequently. After hospitalization, white elders who are less depressed and more motivated are more likely to adhere to an exercise program