Objective: To determine if an exercise intervention, Functional Incidental Training (FIT), results in improvements in mobility endurance and physical activity when compared with prompted voiding (PV) among cognitively and mobility impaired nursing home residents.
Design: Residents from four nursing homes were randomized into either a PV only (PV) or a PV plus FIT (FIT) intervention group for 8 weeks. Research staff implemented all intervention and measurement protocols.
Participants: Seventy-six incontinent nursing home residents completed all phases of the trial.
Measures: The standing, walking, and wheelchair endurance, physical activity, and frequency of agitation of all residents were assessed before, during, and after the 8-week intervention.
Results: The average length of time that subjects could walk or wheel was 2.6 and 4.6 minutes, respectively, at baseline. There was a significant group x time interaction after intervention, with only the FIT group showing improvements in walking, wheelchair, and standing endurance (Manova F = 4.56, 2.62, and 5.98, respectively; P < .05 in all cases). The frequency with which agitation was observed showed a significant drop over time in both groups (F = 14.3, P < .001), with no significant group x time interaction.
Conclusion: The FIT intervention, which requires 6 minutes more nurses' aide time than does PV, increases both physical activity and mobility endurance in extremely frail and deconditioned nursing home residents. The increased cost of this intervention must be evaluated both in terms of clinical outcomes and by the reality that the target group for this intervention is very frail and will continue to require nursing home care, even assuming an excellent response to the intervention.