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Effects of self-monitoring using an accelerometer on physical activity of older people with long-term care insurance in Japan: a randomized controlled trial

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Key summary points

AbstractSection Aim

We investigated the effectiveness of a self-monitoring intervention to promote step count and reduce sedentary behavior in older people covered by the long-term care insurance system (LTCI) in Japan.

AbstractSection Findings

Results from a randomized controlled trial of a self-monitoring intervention using accelerometers with a 5-week follow-up: improvement in a number of steps, light physical activity, and sedentary behavior in the intervention group compared to the control group.

AbstractSection Message

Self-monitoring with an accelerometer may be effective in increasing the number of steps taken and amount of light physical activity per day and in reducing sedentary behavior in older people with LTCI.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a self-monitoring intervention to promote an increase in physical activity, as measured by step count, and reduce sedentary behavior in older people covered by the long-term care insurance system (LTCI) in Japan.

Methods

This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at a daycare center from October 2022 to January 2023. Fifty-two older adults with LTCI who were able to walk with or without aids were assigned to an intervention (n = 26) group and control (n = 26) group. During the 5-week follow-up period, the intervention group received education on physical activity and self-monitoring such as goal setting, self-management and feedback. The primary outcome was step count, and the secondary outcome was sedentary behavior.

Results

Participants who completed the study to the end of the 5-week follow-up and drop-out participants for whom outcome data were available were included in the final analysis of 57 participants, n = 24 (79.8 ± 8.8 years, male 25.5%) in the intervention group and n = 23 (82.5 ± 8.5 years, male 39.1%) in the control group. Comparisons between the two groups at baseline showed no significant differences. In the results of a two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) including 2 (group: control, intervention) × 2 (term: baseline, 5-week follow-up) factors, an interaction was observed in the number of steps, sedentary behavior, and light physical activity (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Self-monitoring of physical activity using an accelerometer may be effective in increasing the number of steps and light physical activity and in reducing sedentary behavior in older people with LTCI.

Clinical trial registration: UMIN000052044, registered on 2023/08/29.

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The data used in the research is highly confidential, so it is difficult to make it public.

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Acknowledgements

This study was benefitted by the support and encouragement of Masashi Kanai, Masato Ogawa, Asami Ogura, Ikkou Kubo, Kodai Ishihara, Yuji Kanejima, Ryo Yoshihara, and Ayami Osumi, all of Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, and Shinichi Noto of Niigata University of Health and Welfare. We would also like to thank the participants and staff at Rifuru Yukuhashi Daycare Center for their cooperation in this study.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP22K11392 and JP23K16629 and Reiwa Health Sciences University, University Support Research Fund 2022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Reiwa Health Sciences University, 2-1-12 Wajirooka, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 811-0213, Japan

    Masahiro Kitamura, Takayuki Nagasaki & Takashi Yoshizawa

  2. Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe, 654-0142, Japan

    Masahiro Kitamura & Kazuhiro P. Izawa

  3. Cardiovascular Stroke Renal Project, Kobe, Japan

    Masahiro Kitamura & Kazuhiro P. Izawa

  4. Department of Rehabilitation, Rifuru Yukuhashi Daycare Center, 379-1Takase, Yukuhashi, 824-0027, Japan

    Soichiro Okamura, Koji Fujioka, Wataru Yamaguchi & Hiroaki Matsuda

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  1. Masahiro Kitamura
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  2. Kazuhiro P. Izawa
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  3. Takayuki Nagasaki
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Contributions

Conceptualization, MK, KPI, TN, TY, SO, KF, WY, and HM; methodology, MK and KPI; protocol development, obtaining ethical approval and formal analysis. MK; participant recruitment and investigation, KF and WY; writing—original draft preparation, MK; writing—review and editing, MK, KPI, TN, TY, SO, KF, WY, and HM; resources and funding acquisition, MK and KPI; supervision, KPI All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kazuhiro P. Izawa.

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The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

The study protocol was approved by the Reiwa Health Sciences University Research Ethics Committee (approval number: 22–008). The study complied with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Written informed consent was obtained from each participant in this study.

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Kitamura, M., Izawa, K.P., Nagasaki, T. et al. Effects of self-monitoring using an accelerometer on physical activity of older people with long-term care insurance in Japan: a randomized controlled trial. Eur Geriatr Med 15, 371–380 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-024-00935-w

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