Clinical Trial: Efficacy and Safety of a Hospital Walking Program for Older Adults
Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Efficacy and Safety of a Hospital Walking Program for Older Adults
Brief Summary: Low mobility, defined as being limited to bed or chair, is common during acute hospitalization. This study will evaluate the impact and safety of a hospital walking program for older patients during acute general medical hospitalization. Participants who are 65 years of age or older, will be randomized to usual care (UC) or to a hospital walking program (WP), which includes twice daily walks with assistance, provision of necessary ambulatory devices, and a behavioral intervention strategy designed to encourage out of bed activity. Throughout hospitalization, the WP and UC veterans will were wireless monitors on the thigh and ankle that measure activity. The primary goal will be in increase the length of time veterans spend out of bed and to assure this out of bed activity is safe.
Detailed Summary:
Background: Low mobility, defined as being limited to bed or chair, is common during acute hospitalization. The candidate's work has demonstrated low mobility to be associated with adverse outcomes including functional decline, need for new nursing home admission, and death even after controlling for illness severity and comorbidity. Objective: Using a Phase II trial design, the impact and safety of a hospital walking program for older patients during acute general medical hospitalization will be evaluated.
Project Design: 100 patients, age 65 years admitted to the medical wards at the Birmingham VAMC will be recruited within 48 hours of hospitalization and followed for 14 days after enrollment or until discharge, which ever comes first. Exclusion criteria will include: (1) Delirious based on positive Confusion Assessment Method (CAM); (2) Mini Mental State Examination Score < 17; (3) Patient on isolation; (4) Inability to ambulate 2 weeks prior to admission; (5) Having a medical diagnosis deemed by the primary physician to be a contraindication to ambulation; (6) patient with an imminently terminal illness; and (7) Non-English speaking. Participants will be randomized to either usual care (UC) or to a hospital walking program (WP), which includes twice daily walks with assistance, provision of necessary ambulatory devices, and a behavioral intervention strategy designed to encourage out of bed activity. Throughout hospitalization, the WP and UC veterans will wear on the ipsilateral thigh and ankle wireless monitors that measure horizontal and vertical orientation with respect to gravity. Previously validated by the candidate to assess levels of mobility during hospitalization, the output will be used to calculate the length of time patients spent lying, sitting, and standing or walking, using pre-defined criteria. Other daily measures will include orthostatic blood pr
Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Current Primary Outcome:
- Falls [ Time Frame: 18 months ]Patients were asked daily during hospitalization to self-report any falls
- Amount of Time Spent Out of Bed as Measured by Wireless Accelerometers [ Time Frame: During hospital stay ]Throughout the hospital stay, both the WP and UC patient wore a triaxial accelerometer on the ipsilateral thigh and ankle. The patient's skin was assessed regularly to assure there is no evidence of irritation. The wireless monitors were used to quantify the amount of mobility that occurs daily for each patient with researchers being blinded to the outcome.
Original Primary Outcome: Amount of time spent out of bed as measured by wireless accelerometers [ Time Frame: During hospital stay ]
Current Secondary Outcome: Life-Space Assessment Score [ Time Frame: 4-6 weeks after baseline ]
Original Secondary Outcome:
Information By: VA Office of Research and Development
Dates:
Date Received: July 11, 2008
Date Started: January 2010
Date Completion:
Last Updated: February 23, 2016
Last Verified: February 2016
