Effectiveness of locomotion training in a home visit preventive care project: one-group pre-intervention versus post-intervention design study.
BACKGROUND
Locomotion training in a home visit-type preventive-care program has been reported elsewhere. However, continuation of appropriate exercises in a home setting is difficult, and few reports are available on locomotion training in a home setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of locomotion training over 3 months in a home visit-type preventive-care program for improvement of motor function among elderly people.


METHODS
Nine hundred and fifty-eight elderly people in Tendo City in Japan who were not currently attending any preventive-care program were invited to participate in the study, and 87 were enrolled. In the pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments, we administered an interview survey (the Kihon Checklist), the timed one-leg standing test with eyes open and the sit-to-stand test, at the participants' homes. The intervention involved one set of training exercises with the participants standing on each leg for 1 min and squatting five or six times. The participants were asked to repeat one set of the exercises three times a day at home. In addition, the participants were regularly asked over the telephone about their performance of the exercises.


RESULTS
Physical strength, cognitive function, and total scores of the Kihon Checklist were significantly lower after the intervention than before. In addition, the one-leg standing test time was significantly longer after the intervention (mean ± SD, 23.9 ± 35.4) than before (15.7 ± 20.5), and the sit-to-stand test time was significantly shorter after the intervention (13.0 ± 6.2) than before (14.8 ± 8.3).


CONCLUSIONS
Locomotion training in a home-visit preventive-care program with telephone support effectively improved the motor function of elderly people who were not currently attending any preventive-care program organized by the long-term care insurance system.
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Hikariga-oka 1, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan. Shinyai@fmu.ac.jp.
Shinya
S
Ito
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Hikariga-oka 1, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan.|Fukushima Prefecture Ken-poku Public Health and Welfare Office, Fukushima, Japan.
Mari
M
Hashimoto
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Hikariga-oka 1, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan.
Saori
S
Aduma
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Hikariga-oka 1, Fukushima City, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan.
Seiji
S
Yasumura
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057189:Checklist; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006792:House Calls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011788:Quality of Life; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome