Promoting Seniors' Health with Home Care Aides: A Pilot

描述（由申请人提供）：定期的体育锻炼有益于老年人的身心健康。然而，居住在社区的老年人在行走、洗澡、穿衣和其他基本日常活动方面有困难，缺乏体育活动。越来越多需要协助完成两项或以上日常生活活动的长者（即有家居护理需要的长者）仍留在社区接受家居护理。家庭护理助理定期提供日常家务和长期的个人护理，因此有可能促进他们的客户的身体活动。然而，很少有现有的体育活动计划适合家庭护理助理在非医疗家庭护理环境中向老年客户提供。该项目的长期目标是制定一项可持续的健康促进方案，由家庭护理助理领导，社区组织（例如家庭护理机构、国家老龄问题单位）可以利用该方案，维持住在家中有资格入住养老院的老年人的独立性。主要目的是在医疗补助资助的家庭护理项目中，为社区居住的老年人提供由家庭护理助理提供的体育活动计划。具体目的是：(1)测试和增强方案的可行性；(2)测试和增强数据收集的可行性和结果测量的适用性。这项体育活动计划包括一个简短的激励性访谈和三次坐在椅子上的运动，旨在激励有资格住进养老院的老年人增加体育活动，帮助他们在社区中保持独立性。该项目最初由病例管理人员提供，以身体活动和行为改变的科学研究为基础，将由家庭护理人员提供。这项研究将提供必要的信息，以设计一个未来的研究，以测试程序的有效性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Regular physical activity benefits older adults physically and mentally. However, community-dwelling older adults who have difficulties with walking, bathing, dressing and other basic daily activities, lack access to physical activity. A growing number of seniors who need help with 2 or more activities of daily living (i.e., seniors with nursing home-level care needs) remain in the community and receive home care. Home care aides regularly provide routine housekeeping and personal care for an extended period of time and thus have a potential to promote their clients' physical activity. However, few existing physical activity programs are appropriate for home care aides to deliver to older clients in non-medical home care settings. The long-term goal of this project is to develop a sustainable health promotion program led by home care aides that can be used by community-based organizations (e.g. home care agencies, State Units on Aging) to maintain independence among nursing home-eligible older adults living in their homes. The primary objective is to pilot a physical activity program delivered by home care aides for community-dwelling older adults in a Medicaid- funded home care program. The specific aims are: (1) to test and enhance the program feasibility, and (2) to test and enhance the feasibility of data collection and the applicability of outcome measures. The physical activity program, which consists of a brief motivational interview and three chair-bound movements, is expected to motivate nursing home-eligible seniors to increase physical activity and help maintain their independence in the community. The program, originally delivered by case managers, builds on scientific studies of physical activity and behavioral change, and will be translated into the one to be delivered by home care aides. This study will provide information necessary to design a future study to test the program's effectiveness.