# Community-based Intervention Effects on Older Adults' Physical Activity and Falls

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2020 · $515,961

## Abstract

Project Summary/ Abstract
Despite evidence that physical activities (PA) targeting leg strength and balance reduce falls, less than 12%
of older adults engage in these activities on a regular basis and fall rates continue to increase. Research
examining intervention strategies that motivate older adults to engage in PA is scarce and inconclusive. The
proposed research aims to address this gap in fall prevention science. The objective of this proposal is to
identify behavioral change strategies that elicit increased PA, sustained for 12 months and, in turn, lead to a
reduction in falls and improved quality of life (QOL). Building on prior research, the proposed study will use a
factorial experimental design to test the relative influence of behavioral change strategies separated into two
components. These components are comprised of distinct sets of behavior change strategies that represent
two different ways of motivating people to take action: inter-personal and intra-personal, consistent with
theories of behavioral change and life-span development, as well as empirical evidence. These components
will be combined with core intervention content that includes Otago, an evidence-based, fall-reducing PA
protocol, and a PA-monitor for self-tracking. We will recruit 308 community-dwelling adults > 70 years old and
randomly assign them to one of four conditions: (a) Otago + PA-monitor; (b) Otago + PA-monitor + inter-
personal component; (c) Otago + PA-monitor + intra-personal component; and (d) Otago + PA-monitor +
inter-personal + intra-personal components. Content within all conditions will be delivered over 8 weeks to
small groups in community centers. We will re-assess all participants post-intervention: immediately, 6
months and 12 months to evaluate the short and long-term efficacy of the intervention components. We
hypothesize that participants receiving the inter-personal component, relative to participants not receiving
this component, will have a) clinically meaningful increases in PA at all 3 follow-up time points; and b)
reductions in falls and improved quality of life 12 months post-intervention. We will also explore the effects of
intervention components on targeted mechanisms, motivational constructs (social support; readiness; self-
regulation) and physical markers of fall risk (functional balance and strength), and whether these
mechanisms are associated with PA and fall outcomes. We hypothesize that receiving the inter-personal
motivational component, relative to not receiving this component, will elicit increases in motivational
constructs and physical markers of fall risk, which will mediate the intervention’s effects on PA and falls. The
proposed research is innovative, because it represents a substantive expansion of biomechanically-oriented
fall-reducing PA protocols to a) examine which behavioral change strategies elicit sustained effects (e.g., 12
months) on increased PA, as well as on falls, and QOL; and b) explore underlying ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9855087
- **Project number:** 5R01NR016705-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Siobhan Kathleen McMahon
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $515,961
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-15 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9855087

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9855087, Community-based Intervention Effects on Older Adults' Physical Activity and Falls (5R01NR016705-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9855087. Licensed CC0.

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