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QUESTION: In nursing home (NH) residents, does an intervention combining low intensity exercise and incontinence care offset its costs by reducing selected health conditions?
Design
Cost effectiveness analysis of a randomised {allocation concealed}*, blinded ({data collectors}* and outcome assessors), controlled trial with follow up at 8 and 32 weeks.
Setting
4 NHs in the US.
Patients
190 NH residents (mean age 88 y, 85% women) with urinary incontinence who did not have catheters, could follow a simple 1 step instruction, and were not on Medicare Part A reimbursement for post-acute skilled care or terminal illness. Follow up was 91% at 8 weeks and 78% at 32 weeks.
Intervention
Patients were allocated to an 8 month exercise programme (Functional Incidental Training [FIT]) (n=92) or to usual care (n=98). The FIT intervention was implemented every 2 hours during the day for 5 days per week and involved prompts to toilet and changing if wet, encouragement to walk (or wheel their wheelchairs), repeat sit to stands up to 8 times, and practise upper body resistance …
Footnotes
↵* Information provided by author.
Source of funding: National Institute on Aging.
For correspondence: Dr J F Schnelle, JHA/UCLA Borun Center, Reseda, CA, USA. jschnell{at}ucla.edu