Study design
This was a nested cohort study using data from a large
cluster-randomised controlled trial: Older People's
Exercise in Residential and nursing Accommodation
(OPERA). The rationale and methods for the OPERA
trial have been reported in full elsewhere [17,18]. In
brief, the trial included 1023 participants, aged over
65 years, living in 78 residential and nursing homes
across Coventry and Warwickshire and North East
London. Homes were randomised to either an active intervention
(including staff depression awareness training and
a whole home physical activation and exercise programme)
or control (staff depression awareness training only).
Follow up of the study participants was undertaken at
12 months post-randomisation; only data from the active
intervention arm were used for this analysis.
Participants
A subsample of 428 adults aged over 75 years residing in
34 homes randomised to deliver exercise was identified.
Although 35 intervention homes were randomised, one
had 0% attendance because no residents were actually
eligible to participate in the exercise groups. This home
was given staff depression awareness training and due to
the principles of intention to treat, it was analysed in the
intervention arm of the original OPERA study. However,
for this regression analysis, as none of the residents
were eligible to attend exercise, data i.e. predictors for
attendance, were not included.
All participants aged over 75 were selected in this
analysis because of lack of research investigating the
‘old’ to ‘oldest old’ living in LTC [6,19]. No upper age
limit was applied.