Activity Tracking, Care Partner Co-participation, Text Reminders, Instructional Education, Video-Guided Physical Rehabilitation, and Exercise

Activity Tracking, Care Partner Co-participation, Text Reminders, Instructional Education, Video-Guided Physical Rehabilitation, and Exercise (ACTIVE) Intervention Among Older Adults With and Without Mild Dementia

This is a multi-methods two-arm, crossover, analyst-blinded randomized controlled trial with embedded qualitative interviews, enrolling 50 dyads (older adult-care partner). Participants will receive the ACTIVE intervention, which includes a Fitbit smartwatch, motivational text messages to engage in walking exercise, instructional educational videos, and virtual physical therapy sessions. Intervention components will be delivered over 3 weeks, with continuous monitoring of physical activity via Fitbit data, read receipts of the motivational text messages, and log of engagement in the virtual physical therapy and educational videos.

Inclusion Criteria:

Older Adults:

• Age ≥65 years.
• With or without mild dementia.
• Willing to consent to participate in the study or have an LAR that is willing to consent for their participation in the study
• Willing to wear a Fitbit smartwatch, receive text messages, watch intervention-related videos, participate in physical therapy, and walking exercise.
• No contraindications to engaging in physical activity.

Care Partners:

• Age ≥18 years.
• Met criteria for survey participation.
• Person being cared for is recruited in the study.
• Willing to consent to participation
• Willing to wear a Fitbit smartwatch, receive text messages, watch intervention-related videos, participate in physical therapy, and walking exercise.
• No contraindications to engaging in physical activity.

Exclusion Criteria:

Older Adults:

• Severe cardiac, neurologic, or musculoskeletal condition (including but not limited to recent or untreated fracture in any part of the body)
• limiting participation in daily walking or Fitbit smartwatch use.
• Moderate to severe dementia (using the clinical dementia rating scale of 2 or higher
• Inability to operate or manage a Fitbit smartwatch device (even with care partner support).
• No phone or phone not capable of receiving text messages or watching videos.
• No internet for watching videos

Care Partners:

• Severe cardiac, neurologic, or musculoskeletal condition limiting participation in daily walking or Fitbit smartwatch use.
• Pregnant care partners
• Any level of dementia or cognitive impairment among care partners
• Inability to operate or manage a Fitbit smartwatch device.
• Inability to co-participate in intervention tasks with older adult
• No phone or phone not capable of receiving text messages or watching videos.
• No internet for watching videos