NCT00542360

Marketing Fall Prevention Classes to Older Adults in Faith-Based Congregations

Marketing Fall Prevention Classes to Older Adults in Faith-Based Congregations: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 51 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This cluster randomized trial will test whether a social marketing program implemented in churches can motivate older adults to join exercise classes, in order to improve their strength and balance and thus prevent falls.

Detailed description

Injuries from falls are a leading cause of emergency visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in older US adults, resulting in total lifetime costs of more than $19 billion in 2000. Fall injuries reduce independence and mobility, and increase disability and institutionalization. There is good evidence that community-based group exercise classes focusing on strength and balance prevent older adult falls, but uptake is limited. This study will test a new approach to promote participation in group balance-retraining exercise classes, targeting older adults in faith-based congregations. The proposal addresses national research priorities to evaluate strategies for dissemination and implementation of effective interventions to prevent falls among community-dwelling older adults. Focus groups and key informant interviews will provide research-based understanding of church members aged 60+ and those who influence them, and explore facilitators and barriers to class participation. With this formative research, a targeted social marketing program will be developed to motivate participation. Behavioral change and social marketing theories form the intervention's theoretical basis and will guide program design. The marketing program aims to increase class attractiveness, usability, and uptake by reducing barriers or costs and using incentives or other benefits to reinforce participation. Churches, representing varied denominations and communities, will be randomly allocated to intervention (marketing program implementation) or control (no program) groups. Outreach to diverse churches will ensure that materials and strategies target potentially hard-to-reach (e.g., Hispanic, rural) populations. The trial will test whether older adult members of intervention churches are more likely to join balance retraining classes. Factors that may mediate intervention effects will be examined. Secondary outcomes include baseline fall risk among class participants, assessed by physical function tests; and intensity, diffusion, message penetration and acceptability of the marketing program, and persistent facilitators and barriers to class participation, evaluated with process measures, focus groups, and structured interviews.

Conditions

• Accidental Falls

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Marketing program to motivate exercise class participation	Using qualitative research methods, a targeted social marketing program, including a 'marketing toolkit,' was developed to motivate participation in exercise classes by older adult members of churches. The Health Belief and Transtheoretical Models formed the theoretical basis for the social marketing planning process and guided program design. The marketing program aimed to increase exercise class attractiveness, usability, and uptake by reducing barriers and costs, and using messaging about benefits and enhanced convenience to motivate participation. The intervention was implemented through churches.

Timeline

• Start date: 2007-10-01
• Primary completion: 2011-09-01
• Completion: 2012-01-01
• First posted: 2007-10-11
• Last updated: 2018-12-03

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States