Does more exercise in old age improve quality of life? And how can senior citizens be motivated to be more physically active? The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is conducting the "TEL-FIT" project in cooperation with the Institute of Exercise and Sports Gerontology at the German Sport University in Cologne to answer these questions.
The study focuses on a telemedical rehabilitation programme. "We want to find out whether older people are actually willing to do regular exercise at home, supported by regular telephone coaching sessions," says Dr Lukas Streese, academic staff member in the HSNR's Therapy Sciences department. "Empirical studies show that telemedically supported exercise programmes in adulthood can significantly increase physical activity and functional performance." For example, independence in everyday life could improve, as could hand grip strength, fear of falling and pain perception. "So far, however, there is hardly any scientific evidence on the feasibility of this programme with senior citizens," says Streese.
The telemedical rehabilitation programme combines telephone coaching with an individually tailored exercise programme, which is instructed once in person and then carried out daily. It is aimed at older people aged 70 and over who live independently. The aim of the study is to test the feasibility, practicability and acceptance of the target group for a telemedical programme. "At the same time, initial findings on the effects of this measure on the mobility, physical activity, physical performance and quality of life of the participants are to be analysed," says Lukas Streese.
To this end, the scientists will carry out objective and subjective measurements of physical activity and functional performance tests, and the study participants will also answer questionnaires to record their quality of life and take part in telephone coaching sessions. The study will be conducted in collaboration with several physiotherapy and occupational therapy centres in Krefeld, Mönchengladbach and Neuss.
The results of this feasibility study will form the foundation course for further research projects in which the implementation of movement-promoting telephone coaching will be investigated for other target groups and different patient clienteles.
