Intervention to Raise Octogenarians' Walking Levels

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dr. Sarkisian is a board-certified internist with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatric Medicine. Her research focuses on prevention of disability among older adults, in particular the impact of older adults' expectations for aging on their health behaviors. She has strong observational research skills, and now seeks research training in behavioral interventions and clinical trial methodology. As her primary mentor on the proposed Paul B. Beeson Career Development Award in Aging, Dr. David B. Reuben, a national leader in aging research with extensive experience conducting NIA-funded investigations, will supervise Dr. Sarkisian's research training and career development towards becoming an independent investigator and a leader in the field of aging. Along with Dr. Reuben, a multidisciplinary mentoring team including Dr. Carol M. Mangione, a health services researcher with expertise in community-based participatory research, Dr. Thomas Prohaska, a gerontologist with expertise in physical activity interventions, and Dr. Bernard Weiner, a motivational psychologist, will work closely with Dr. Sarkisian while she conducts the proposed research and acquires new skills that will be critical in her future work conducting community-based interventions aimed at decreasing functional decline among older persons at greatest risk. Because regular physical activity strongly contributes to the health and quality of life of older adults, identifying effective strategies for increasing physical activity levels among older adults is a current national priority. For adults who have exceeded their life-expectancy at birth, i.e. those aged 80 years and greater, however, as yet there exists little to offer in terms of interventions that can successfully raise and sustain physical activity levels. Previously, Dr. Sarkisian and her interdisciplinary team of mentors designed an innovative behavioral intervention to increase walking among adults aged 65 years and greater by raising their expectations for aging. The objective of the proposed mentored research program is to tailor this intervention to octogenarians, and then pilot test the modified intervention in a small randomized clinical trial (RCT). Specifically, in Phase I of the proposed research, Dr. Sarkisian will conduct focus groups to identify the outcome expectations for physical activity among octogenarians, and working closely with her mentors, will design a theoretically-based behavioral intervention to match the expectations most highly valued by octogenarians. In Phase II, Dr. Sarkisian will conduct a small RCT of the modified intervention with 60 octogenarians recruited from senior residential facilities to obtain preliminary data that would guide the design of a larger RCT.