Physical activity levels of hospitalised older inpatients is low and this results in many adverse health outcomes. Studies have shown that interventions designed to promote increased physical activity of older inpatients using paid staff have shown improvement in physical function of older inpatients, resulting in shorter hospital stay and reduced admissions to nursing home. This study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of using trained volunteers to increase physical activity of older people in hospital. Volunteers will be recruited and trained to encourage older inpatients to mobilise or perform chair-based exercises. Patients will be encouraged to walk or exercise with the volunteers twice a day during their hospital stay. Quantitative analysis will be conducted on the outcome measures. Patients, volunteers and staff members will also be interviewed to assess the acceptability of the intervention. This feasibility study will help inform a future controlled trial.
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Feasibility of using trained volunteers to promote increased physical activity among hospitalised older people
Timeframe: 2 year