BackgroundOlder adults, who are living in nursing homes that provide a high level of long-term nursing care, are characterized by multimorbidity and a high prevalence of dependency in activities of daily living. Results of recent studies indicate positive effects of structured exercise programs during long-term care for physical functioning, cognition, and psychosocial well-being. However, for frail elderly the evidence remains inconsistent. There are no evidence-based guidelines for exercises for nursing home residents that consider their individual deficits and capacities. Therefore, high-quality studies are required to examine the efficacy of exercise interventions for this multimorbid target group. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a multicomponent exercise intervention for nursing home residents that aims to improve physical and cognitive functioning as well as quality of life.MethodsA two-arm single-blinded multicenter randomized controlled trial will be conducted, including 48 nursing homes in eight regions of Germany with an estimated sample size of 1120 individuals. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a training or a waiting time control group. For a period of 16 weeks the training group will meet twice a week for group-based sessions (45–60 min each), which will contain exercises to improve physical functioning (strength, endurance, balance, flexibility) and cognitive-motor skills (dual-task). The intervention is organized as a progressive challenge which is successively adapted to the residents’ capacities. Physical functioning, cognitive performance, and quality of life will be assessed in both study groups at baseline (pre-test), after 16-weeks (post-treatment), and after 32-weeks (retention test, intervention group only).DiscussionThis study will provide information about the efficacy of a multicomponent exercise program in nursing homes (performance, recruitment). Results from this trial will contribute to the evidence of multicomponent exercises, which specifically focus on cognitive-motor approaches in the maintenance of mental and physical functioning. In addition, it will help to encourage older adults to actively engage in social life. Furthermore, the findings will lead to recommendations for health promotion interventions for frail nursing home residents.Trial registrationThe trial was prospectively registered at DRKS.de with the registration number DRKS00014957 on October 9, 2018.

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Health benefits from physical activity (PA) can be achieved by following the WHO recommendation for PA. To increase PA in inactive individuals, digital interventions can provide cost-effective and low-threshold access. Moreover, gamification elements can raise the motivation for PA. This study analyzed which factors (personality traits, app features, gamification) are relevant to increasing PA within this target group. Methods: N = 808 inactive participants (f = 480; m = 321; age = 48 ± 6) were integrated into the analysis of the desire for PA, the appearance of personality traits and resulting interest in app features and gamification. The statistical analysis included chi-squared tests, one-way ANOVA and regression analysis. Results: The main interests in PA were fitness (97%) and outdoor activities (75%). No significant interaction between personality traits, interest in PA goals, app features and gamification were found. The interest in gamification was determined by the PA goal. Participants’ requirements for features included feedback and suggestions for activities. Monetary incentives were reported as relevant gamification aspects. Conclusion: Inactive people can be reached by outdoor activities, interventions to increase an active lifestyle, fitness and health sports. The study highlighted the interest in specific app features and gamification to increase PA in inactive people through an app.

Background Families experiencing high levels of psychological distress are considered a particularly vulnerable population for adverse effects on mental and physical health. Moreover, highly stressed individuals engage less in mental health promoting activities and show low stress management competencies. App-based stress interventions seem promising for the treatment and prevention of stress outcomes and might be a low-threshold solution. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the requirements for a tailored app to reduce stress in a cohort of highly stressed families that have low stress management skills. Methods Parents (n=1008; age: mean 47.7 years, SD 6.1; female: 599/1008, 59.7%) completed an extensive web-based survey and were subdivided into a target (stressed individuals with low stress competency) and nontarget group according to their reported stress level and stress management competencies. Group differences were analyzed using analysis of variance. In principal component analysis with Kaiser varimax rotation, personally defined stress management goals were grouped into components. Linear regression models were also calculated. Results A 3-factor solution cumulatively explained 56% of the variance in personally defined goals of interest for stress management with (1) active strategies (25.61% explained variance), (2) general competency (17.95% explained variance) and (3) passive strategies (12.45% explained variance). The groups differed in age (F1,978=27.67, P<.001), health index (F1,958=246.14, P<.001), personally defined general-competency goal (F1,958=94.16 P<.001), as well as “information acquisition” (F1,971=14.75, P<.001) and “need for stimulation” (F1,981=54.49, P<.001) personality traits. A regression model showed that for the active strategies goals of interest, only app feature information or instructional videos had a significant effect (P=.02). The general competency factor showed none, and the passive strategies factor showed significant effects for 2 app features—suggestions for planning possible activities with the family (P=.01) and diaries for documentation and development of strategies (P=.03). Conclusions The results of this survey study highlight the need to develop an app to increase stress management competencies that takes into consideration perceived stress level, stress management skills, personality, and personally defined goals of the user. The content of the app should be tailored to previously detected personality traits, especially selective information acquisition and low need for stimulation. Furthermore, personally defined stress management goals seem to affect interest in some features.

No abstract

Zusammenfassung Ziel der Studie Digitale Technologien gewinnen in der primären Prävention zunehmend an Bedeutung. Die Mehrheit digitaler Angebote richtet sich an das Individuum; Zielgruppen wie Familien werden selten adressiert, die Ermittlung und die Berücksichtigung des Bedarfs und der Bedürfnisse sind für eine adressatengerechte Appentwicklung bedeutend. Das Studienziel ist die Ermittlung der Grundvoraussetzungen und gesundheitsbezogenen Ziele der befragten Familien für die Handlungsfelder Bewegung, Ernährung und Entspannung sowie die Erfassung inhaltlicher Schnittmengen der Familienmitglieder in einer Gesundheits-App. Methodik Die Online-Befragung erfolgte mit N=1008 Elternteilen (Ø 48 Jahre, 59% weiblich, 39,3% männlich, 1,7% divers) zu deren Gesundheitszustand sowie den Themen Bewegung, Ernährung und Entspannung, Smartphonenutzung, Appfeatures und Gamification. Die quantitative Datenauswertung (Häufigkeitsanalysen, Chi2-Test, Faktorenanalyse sowie einfaktorielle Varianzanalyse) erfolgte mit IBM SPSS Analytics (25; Armonk, NewYork). Ergebnisse Der Gesundheitszustand wurde von der Mehrheit der Befragten als positiv bewertet. Die Minderheit erfüllte die Referenzwerte der WHO in der Bewegungsaktivität und Ernährung. Weiter berichteten die Befragten über ein hohes Stresslevel und niedrige Stressmanagementkompetenzen. Als Zielbereiche zur Gesundheitsförderung ließen sich vor allem aktive Entspannungsmaßnahmen, Ernährung, Kompetenzerweiterung, körperliche Aktivität, Naturaktivitäten und Sport-Erholungsangebote identifizieren. Signifikante Unterschiede für die Akzeptanz seitens der Kinder zeigten sich mit steigendem Alter für die Bereiche aktive Entspannungsmaßnahmen [F2=3,367; p=,035] und Sport- und Erholungsangebote [F2=7,480; p=,001]. Schlussfolgerung Die Studie deckt inhaltliche Schnittpunkte der Familienmitglieder für einen Prozess der gesundheitlichen Verhaltensänderung mit digitaler Unterstützung auf. Das Interesse an einzelnen Angeboten differiert zwischen den Altersgruppen der Kinder Weitere Forschung sollte Nutzungspräferenzen in einer familiären Gesundheits-App, die Nutzung in verschiedenen Familienkonstellationen sowie eine familiengerechte Ansprache identifizieren.

BACKGROUND Families experiencing high levels of psychological distress are considered a particularly vulnerable population for adverse effects on mental and physical health. Moreover, highly stressed individuals engage less likely in mental health promoting activities and show low stress management competencies. App-based stress interventions seem promising for the treatment and prevention of stress outcomes and might be a low-threshold solution. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify the requirements for a tailored app to reduce stress in a cohort of highly stressed families that have low stress management skills. METHODS N=1008 parents (aged 47.7 ± 6.1; 59,7% females) completed an extensive online survey and were subdivided into a target and non-target group according to their reported stress level and stress management competencies. Group differences were analyzed using ANOVA. In a principal component analysis with Varimax Kaiser Rotation, personally defined stress management goals were grouped into components. Lastly, linear regression models were calculated. RESULTS A three-factor solution cumulatively explained 56% of the variance in personally defined goals of interest for stress management with (1) „active strategies" (25.61% explained variance), (2) „general competence" (17.95% explained variance) and (3) „passive strategies" (12.45% explained variance). The target and non-target groups differed in age (F(1, 978)=27.67, P<.001), health index (F(1, 958)=246.14, P<.001), personally defined „general competence“ goal (F(1, 958)=94.16 P<.001), and personality traits "information acquisition" (F(1, 971)=14.75, P<.001) and "need for stimulation" (F(1, 981)=54.49, P<.001). A regression model showed that for “active strategies” goals of interest, only the app-feature information or instructional videos had a significant effect. The "general competence"-factor showed no significant effect at all and the "passive strategies" factor showed a significant effect for two app features: (1) suggestions for planning possible activities with the family as well as (2) diaries for documentation and development of strategies. CONCLUSIONS The results of this survey study highlight the need to develop an app to increase stress management competencies in consideration of the perceived stress level, stress management skills, personality, and personally defined goals of the user. The content of the app should be tailored to priorly detected personality traits, especially selective information acquisition and low need for stimulation. Further, personally defined stress management goals seem to affect the interest in some features. CLINICALTRIAL