JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Resilience is a protective factor on healthy aging in maintaining and recovering physical and mental function, and the Resilience in Illness Model was evidenced in cultivating resilience and well-being. Accordingly, physical activity is critically important in older adults’ independence and well-being, even though aging brings progressive decline in individual. Unexpected adversity, such as spousal loss and physical disability, is older adults need to face and to overcome in late adulthood, and preventive intervention strategies are urgently needed.

Objective:

We aimed to examine the efficacy of a web-based resilience enhancing program for improving resilience, physical activity and well-being in community dwelling older adults, and to gather feedback about the strengths and limitations of the program.

Methods:

We conducted a single-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial demonstrating a 4‐week, role-play, talk-in-interaction, web-based resilience enhancing program. Participants, older than 65 years, were recruited offline in community, and fully automated and randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The program was delivered and guided by a certificated resilience practitioner. Outcomes were self-assessed in resilience, physical activity and well-being at 4-week (T1) and 12-week (T2) after completed the program or after allocation after the baseline (T0) time point. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the program feedback.

Results:

Of 96 participants recruited, 63 participants were randomized into an intervention (n = 31) and a control group (n = 32). Mean age in intervention and control group was 69.27 and 74.84-year-old, respectively, and age (t = -4.53, P < .05) and physical activity at baseline (t = 2.16, P = .031) showed between-group difference. As anticipated, intervention effects over time were observed for self-assurance of well-being, showing an effect estimate of 1.73; 95% CI [0.39, 7.18]; P = .029. Contrary to our hypotheses, no intervention effects were observed for resilience and physical activity. The drop-out rate was 6.5% and 15.6% in intervention and control group, respectively, and the statistics showed that 82.8 % (24/31) of the participants in the intervention group completed 100 % of the program. Program feedback from participants in the intervention group demonstrated the satisfaction of the web-based facilitated program and the mentorship.

Conclusions:

A web-based resilience enhancing program can optimize self-assurance of well-being on community-dwelling older adult. This study was evidenced that it is acceptable and feasible to implement programs with similar design features to geriatric population, who was keen for it to enhancing resilience for healthy aging. Moreover, mentorship support plays a key in program delivery. Future study should focus on optimizing designs of program content, engagement and delivery to driving meaningful changes in pursuing healthy aging for this target population. Clinical Trial: Trial registration numbers: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05808491; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05808491