Optimising rehabilitation outcomes in frail older adults: effects of increasing the amount of physical activity

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The main aim of this study is to investigate whether increasing the amount of physical activity results in better mobility outcomes in frail, older people. This study will be performed during hospital based rehabilitation and will be compared to mobility outcomes resulting from usual care. A second aim is to investigate whether this physical activity intervention results in improvements in quality of life. Finally we plan to investigate whether increasing the amount of physical activity during rehabilitation is cost effective. Participants will be recruited from two Victorian hospitals which offer inpatient rehabilitation to older adults. Older people receiving inpatient rehabilitation will be randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will receive extra physical activity on weekdays and weekends while the control group will receive additional social interaction. Both groups will be assessed at baseline, discharge from hospital and at 6 months. The primary outcome for this study is gait speed, as measured by the 6 metre walk test. Other outcomes relating to mobility, function and quality of life will also be assessed. At the end of the study a health economic analysis will be performed to assess whether the extra physical activity provided was cost effective, all factors considered.