Feasibility study by a single-blind randomized controlled trial of self-management of mobility with a gait-speed feedback device by older persons at risk for falling

Figures & data

Figure 1. Participant time line and progress through the study. T0 = baseline assessment; MFD = Mobility Feedback Device; T6 = end of study assessment after 6 months.

Table 1. Baseline characteristics of participants with a recent fall in the community-dwelling, home for the aged and community center settings.

Participants included (N = 86)
	Setting				Randomization
	Community-dwelling (N = 58)	Home for the aged (N = 20)	Community centre (N = 8)	p	Intervention group (N = 43)	Control group (N = 43)	p
Age, years	79.1 (6.1)	84.3 (5.3)	79.0 (6.4)	.004	79.9 (5.5)	80.9 (7.0)	.373
Female, N(%)	37 (63.8)	12 (60.0)	7 (87.5)	.374	29 (67.4)	27 (62.8)	.651
MOS-20, physical functioning	46.3 (32.3)	35.8 (33.5)	29.2 (26.4)	.226	39.9 (31.9)	44.6 (32.9)	.508
MOS-20, role functioning	43.1 (46.3)	32.5 (43.8)	37.5 (51.8)	.668	27.9 (41.3)	52.3 (47.5)	.013
MOS-20, social functioning	73.1 (28.2)	47.0 (32.0)	62.5 (36.2)	.005	60.0 (33.5)	72.1 (28.3)	.074
MOS-20, mental health	76.3 (18.9)	60.4 (22.7)	64.5 (18.9)	.007	70.2 (21.0)	72.7 (20.8)	.579
MOS-20, current health perception	62.8 (23.5)	48.3 (23.2)	58.1 (22.7)	.062	58.8 (25.0)	59.1 (23.0)	.964
MOS-20, pain	39.2 (34.4)	57.9 (32.3)	53.1 (24.8)	.085	41.7 (34.8)	47.7 (33.1)	.417
SPPB	8.9 (2.8)	6.4 (3.2)	8.4 (3.6)	.007	8.5 (3.1)	8.16 (3.2)	.495
LAPAQ, minutes/day	118.5 (64.6)	78.9 (70.4)	147.4 (119.5)	.042	111.8 (71.2)	112.1 (77.7)	.987
SMAS-30	63.6 (12.4)	53.6 (7.8)	61.3 (14.5)	.006	60.9 (12.7)	61.3 (12.0)	.884
Katz-15	1.8 (1.9)	4.1 (2.7)	4.0 (3.4)	<.001	2.8 (2.8)	2.2 (2.2)	.244
FES-I	30.7 (9.4)	34.5 (11.0)	34.0 (16.4)	.341	32.8 (11.4)	31.0 (9.7)	.430
CIRS-G	9.5 (5.2)	13.9 (4.9)	9.9 (5.0)	.027	10.3 (5.3)	10.2 (5.4)	.929
MMSE	28.1 (1.9)	26.0 (3.5)	27.8 (3.2)	.005	27.7 (2.7)	27.4 (2.6)	.626
Frail, yes (%)	6 (10.3)	9 (45.0)	1 (14.3)	.003	9 (20.9)	7 (16.3)	.579
Setting, N(%) – Community dwelling – Home for the aged – Community centre					1.00
					29 (67.4)	29 (67.4)
					10 (23.3)	10 (23.3)
					4 (9.3)	4 (9.3)

Notes. All data presented as means with standard deviation within parentheses unless stated otherwise. MOS-20: Medical Outcomes Study 20-item short form (6 dimensions: physical functioning, role functioning, social functioning, mental health, current health perceptions, and (physical) pain (each dimension a score range 0–100, higher scores indicating better health)); SPPB: Short Physical Performance Battery (summary performance score (range 0–12) for three tasks, higher scores indicating better lower body function); TUG: Timed Up & Go (higher scores indicating lower mobility); LAPAQ: LASA Physical Activity Questionnaire (minutes per day for all physical activities); SMAS-30: Self-Management Ability Scale (30 items, score range 0–100, higher scores indicating better self-management); Katz-15: Katz-15 item scale (basic and instrumental activities of daily living, with a score range of 0–15, lower scores indicating better functional performance); FES-I: Falls Efficacy Scale-International (scale from 1 to 4 for each of 16 items, total scores ranging from 16 to 64, higher scores indicating more fear of falling); CIRS-G: Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (scale from 0–4 for each of 14 categories, higher scores reflecting more comorbidity); MMSE: Mini Mental State Examination (range 0–30, higher scores indicating better cognitive status); Frail: Fried Frailty score (range 0–5; 0–2: not frail, ≥3 frail) based on the Fried criteria: unintentional weight loss, self-reported exhaustion, low energy expenditure, slow gait speed, and weak grip strength.

Table 2. Baseline characteristics of the participants who completed the study and those who dropped-out.

	Participants (n = 78)	Drop-outs (n = 8)	p
Age, years	80.3 (6.4)	80.9 (5.3)	.796
Female, N(%)	52 (66.7)	4 (50.0)	.346
MOS-20,physical functioning	43.2 (32.5)	33.3 (30.9)	.416
MOS-20, role functioning	42.9 (46.8)	12.5 (23.1)	.008
MOS-20, social functioning	68.5 (30.3)	42.5 (34.5)	.025
MOS-20, mental health	72.9 (20.5)	57.5 (19.9)	.045
MOS-20, current health perception	60.1 (23.8)	48.1 (23.7)	.180
MOS-20, pain	44.2 (34.6)	50.0 (26.7)	.645
SPPB	8.3 (3.1)	8.3 (4.1)	.978
TUG, seconds	12.3 (7.7)	14.6 (13.7)	.451
LAPAQ, minutes/day	113.4 (75.7)	97.8 (58.4)	.573
SMAS-30	61.4 (12.4)	57.9 (12.1)	.447
Katz-15	2.3 (2.3)	4.8 (3.3)	.007
FES-I	31.7 (10.8)	34.1 (8.6)	.536
CIRS-G	10.3 (5.4)	10.8 (5.0)	.824
MMSE	27.7 (2.4)	26.0 (4.3)	.298
Frail, yes (%)	13 (16.7)	3 (37.5)	.149

Notes. All data presented as means with standard deviation within parentheses unless stated otherwise. MOS-20: Medical Outcomes Study 20-item short form (6 dimensions: physical functioning, role functioning, social functioning, mental health, current health perceptions, and (physical) pain (each dimension a score range 0–100, higher scores indicating better health)); SPPB: Short Physical Performance Battery (summary performance score (range 0–12) for three tasks, higher scores indicating better lower body function); TUG: Timed Up & Go (higher scores indicating lower mobility); LAPAQ: LASA Physical Activity Questionnaire (minutes per day for all physical activities); SMAS-30: Self-Management Ability Scale (30 items, score range 0–100, higher scores indicating better self-management); Katz-15: Katz-15 item scale (basic and instrumental activities of daily living, with a score range of 0–15, lower scores indicating better functional performance); FES-I: Falls Efficacy Scale-International (scale from 1 to 4 for each of 16 items, total scores ranging from 16 to 64, higher scores indicating more fear of falling); CIRS-G: Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (scale from 0 to 4 for each of 14 categories, higher scores reflecting more comorbidity); MMSE: Mini Mental State Examination (range 0–30, higher scores indicating better cognitive status); Frail: Fried Frailty score (range 0–5; 0–2: not frail, ≥3 frail) based on the Fried criteria: unintentional weight loss, self-reported exhaustion, low energy expenditure, slow gait speed, and weak grip strength.

Table 3. Changes in outcomes of the intervention and control group following 6 months self-monitoring of gait speed.

	Intervention group (N = 36)	Control group (N = 42)	p
MOS-20,physical functioning	−2.8 (25.0)	−1.2 (26.4)	.411
MOS-20, role functioning	11.1 (38.0)	−4.8 (39.5)	.776
MOS-20, social functioning	−3.9 (22.3)	−1.4 (25.9)	.640
MOS-20, mental health	−2.0 (11.3)	−0.8 (11.4)	.496
MOS-20, current health perception	−1.3 (17.1)	−3.9 (16.4)	.024
MOS-20, pain	7.1 (26.8)	−2.4 (40.5)	.587
SPPB	0.3 (1.5)	0.5 (2.0)	.268
TUG, seconds	0.4 (3.6)	−0.2 (5.3)	.697
LAPAQ, minutes/day	−5.3 (61.0)	0.9 (55.6)	.880
SMAS-30	−1.0 (7.2)	−2.3 (6.7)	.378
Katz-15	0.1 (1.3)	−.02 (1.3)	.523
FES-I	2.1 (6.9)	−1.6 (7.0)	.110

Notes. All data presented as means with standard deviation within parentheses unless stated otherwise. Bonferroni corrections were used for multiple testing of significant differences. MOS-20: Medical Outcomes Study 20-item short form (6 dimensions: physical functioning, role functioning, social functioning, mental health, current health perceptions, and (physical) pain (each dimension a score range 0–100, higher scores indicating better health)); SPPB: Short Physical Performance Battery (summary performance score (range 0–12) for three tasks, higher scores indicating better lower body function); TUG: Timed Up & Go (higher scores indicating lower mobility); LAPAQ: LASA Physical Activity Questionnaire (minutes per day for all physical activities); SMAS-30: Self-Management Ability Scale (30 items, score range 0–100, higher scores indicating better self-management); Katz-15: Katz-15 item scale (basic and instrumental activities of daily living, with a score range of 0–15, lower scores indicating better functional performance); FES-I: Falls Efficacy Scale-International (scale from 1–4 for each of 16 items, total scores ranging from 16 to 64, higher scores indicating more fear of falling).