Preventing Frailty in Hospital Through Mobilizing Patients: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
Description
Older adults who live with frailty are characterized by chronic illness and are a vulnerable population. Most hospital inpatients have higher frailty levels and spend their day in a sitting or lying posture. This inactivity increases their risk of more health problems and readmissions. Movement is one of the best medicines for preventing and improving frailty levels.
We propose a pilot randomized clinical trial that tests the effectiveness of a Kinesiologist-led mobility program in hospital to help patients reduce their time in bed, frailty level, and shorten their length of stay. Patients within the Vitalité Health Network will be randomized to receive daily visits from a Kinesiologist or receive multiple daily visits for the duration of their hospital stay. Physical activity and postures will be measured via accelerometers (activPAL 24-hr/day) and frailty via a validated questionnaire from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Length of stay and rates of readmission will be recorded.
This pilot study is necessary to determine if this model should be upscaled and expanded to other settings. If successful, the mobility intervention will help patients move more and prevent the deconditioning often observed with hospitalization that is responsible for making patients frailer.
Objectives
The proposed study will test the hypothesis that, compared to usual care (Kinesiology visit once/day), patients who receive multiple check-ins will:
- Increase their step counts and upright time
- Decrease their frailty level, and
- Decrease length of stay and readmission rates..
Team
Principal Investigators: Matthieu Dumont, Myles O’Brien, Shirko Ahmadi
Co-investigators: Monique Doiron-Dufour, Luc Cormier, Saïd Mekari
Funder
This project is supported by the DUO Health Research Fund of the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick.