A Cost Analysis of a Physical Activity Intervention for Older Adults

Abstract

We examined the costs of a physical activity (PA) and an educational comparison intervention. 424 older adults at risk for mobility disability were randomly assigned to either condition. The PA program consisted of center-based exercise sessions 3× weekly for 8 weeks, 2× weekly for weeks 9 to 24 and weekly behavioral counseling for 10 weeks. Optional sessions were offered during maintenance weeks . The comparison intervention consisted of weekly education meetings for 24 weeks, and then monthly for 6 months. Cost analyses were conducted from the "payer's" perspective, with a 1-year time horizon. Intervention costs were estimated by tracking personnel activities and materials used for each intervention and multiplying by national unit cost averages. The average cost/participant was $1134 and $175 for the PA and the comparison interventions, respectively. A preliminary cost/effectiveness analysis gauged the cost/disability avoided to be $28,206. Costs for this PA program for older adults are comparable to those of other PA interventions. The results are preliminary and a longer study is required to fully assess the costs and health benefits of these interventions. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptImpaired mobility, defined as being able to "walk safely and independently," 1 is common among older adults and has been found to predict broader disability involving activities of daily living and independence. 2,3 A subgroup of the older adult population at risk for future disability 4-7 is characterized by a sedentary lifestyle and impaired mobility. More specifically, high risk older adults walk more slowly and have reduced strength and balance but can still perform most daily living activities.In an attempt to address the needs of this high risk population and prevent them from becoming more fully disabled, an intensive physical activity intervention has been developed and evaluated in the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Pilot Study (LIFE-P), a randomized controlled trial of physical activity compared with a "successful aging" educational intervention. After 12 months, participants randomly assigned to the physical activity (PA) intervention were less likely to reach the endpoint of major mobility disability in comparison with participants in the successful aging (SA) comparison group. 8 Major mobility disability was defined as the inability to complete a 400-m walk. 9 In addition, participants in the PA group had significantly higher mean scores on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and faster mean walking times in the 400-m walk.Physical activity interventions can vary widely in their methodology, intensity, and the amount of resources required to conduct them. [10][11][12][13][14] In this paper, we examine the resources required to achieve the health benefits associated with the physical activity intervention in the (LIFE-P) study. MethodsData for this study were collected in 2004 to 2006 and analyses were conducted in 2007 to 2008. De...

Shunting of the over 80s in normal pressure hydrocephalus

“…Improvement in mobility has been shown to significantly reduce the cost of care in older adults [6]. Poor mobility is also associated with other morbidity such as fractured neck of femur, which in itself has a high morbidity and mortality rate.…”

Self-reported Home Exercise and Younger Age Predict Improved Health-related Quality of Life among Community-Dwelling Elderly Participants in a Three-month Group Exercise Class

“…However, previous studies evaluating the costs of various programs for the elderly showed that a structured exercise intervention would cost 3 to 6 times more, per person, than would an educational program (Groessl et al, 2009;Sevick et al, 2000). These findings strongly suggest that the allocation of participants to appropriate interventions such as exercise, diet, and dementia prevention classes based on the screening tests of participants' characteristics would be crucial for more efficient usage of healthcare resources.…”

Cost Template for Meaningful Activity Intervention for Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…Both costs were greater than the DEMA intervention. 8,12,20 On the other hand, Gitlin et al’s tailored activity intervention study cost an average of $941.63, which was less than the DEMA intervention. 7 …”

“….Only a few published studies have explored program costs for interventions for dementia family caregivers. 8,11,19,20 To our knowledge, this is the only study that has explored preliminary costs for an intervention designed to improve outcomes for PwMCI-caregiver dyads in the clinical setting. The aim of this paper was to estimate the pilot program costs of the Daily Enhancement of Meaningful Activity (DEMA) intervention for PwMCI -caregiver dyads in clinical settings.…”