Increased movement leads to better outcomes for aged care residents
成人大片 researchers have found that aged care residents who move more and interact with their environment are more likely to live longer, have fewer falls and have a higher quality of life.
鈥淲hile it might be a common misconception that older people living in residential aged care are room-bound, our research found that at least half of the residents moved out of their wing daily, and over a quarter ventured outside the care home at least weekly,鈥 said Dr Agathe Daria Jadczak, the primary author on the research and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre of Research Excellence Frailty and Health Ageing at the 成人大片鈥檚 Adelaide Medical School.
鈥淐onditions such as frailty, loss of muscle mass and malnutrition were found to have a negative impact on residents鈥 movement, however, there is evidence to suggest that these conditions can be managed through promoting physical activity and adequate nutrition.
鈥淭he physical and social environment of the residential care home plays an important role in promoting movement, which can assist residents to maintain their functional ability and encourages healthy ageing.
鈥淲e found that increased movement was associated with improved health outcomes such as lower mortality rate, lower falls rate, and improved quality of life.鈥
鈥淲e found that increased movement was associated with improved health outcomes such as lower mortality rate, lower falls rate, and improved quality of life.鈥Dr Agathe Daria Jadczak, primary author on the research and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre of Research Excellence Frailty and Health Ageing at the 成人大片鈥檚 Adelaide Medical School.
The study of 556 residents across 12 South Australian residential aged care homes operated by Resthaven was conducted between March and October in 2019, and followed up 12 months later in 2020.
The research emphasises the importance of aged care residents being encouraged to move within the care home and interact with their environment so that they maintain their health and quality of life.
This research on residents鈥 movement was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic where restrictions were imposed on residential aged care residents and visitors.
The mean age of the residents surveyed was 87.7 years of age, while 73 per cent of the residents were women.
Professor Renuka Visvanathan (National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence Frailty and Health Ageing, Adelaide Medical School, 成人大片) and Suzanne Edwards (Adelaide Health Technology Assessment, 成人大片) also contributed to this research, which was conducted in collaboration with Resthaven.
The research has been published in the and was funded by the South Australian Department for Innovation and Skills, the Hospital Research Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia through the Centre of Research Excellence Scheme, and Resthaven through the GTRAC Resthaven Research Grants Scheme.
Media contacts:
Agathe Daria Jadczak, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre of Research Excellence Frailty and Health Ageing, Adelaide Medical School, 成人大片. Mobile:聽+61 (0) 422 515 611 Email: agathedaria.jadczak@adelaide.edu.au
Lee Gaskin, Senior Media and Communications Officer, 成人大片. Mobile: +61 (0) 415 747 075 Email: lee.gaskin@adelaide.edu.au