Development of a Power Training Program to Improve Mobility in Older Veterans

The overall purpose of this study is to develop a power training intervention in partnership with Veterans participating in Gerofit and to evaluate the program's acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary participant outcomes (leg power, physical function and self-report participation).

The overall purpose of this project is to co-design a power training intervention for Veterans engaged in Gerofit and to assess its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary participant outcomes. Gerofit Veterans and exercise providers will participate in co-designing the power training intervention through interviews and feedback sessions. The power training program developed will be tested in the subsequent randomized feasibility pilot. This pilot aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a power training program in older Veterans participating in Gerofit using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Veterans newly enrolled in the Gerofit program will be randomized into power training and standard of care groups and will participate in exercise sessions over 6 months. Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed by Veteran adherence to program components and by validated surveys. Quantitative data collection will inform qualitative interviews with Veterans on the acceptability and feasibility of the power training program at its completion. Clinical outcomes will be collected (leg power, physical function, and self-report participation) at baseline, 3 months and 6 months and will be compared between the Gerofit power training and Gerofit standard of care groups. Study findings will lead to the development of a power training program that optimally meets Veteran and Gerofit program needs. In addition, study outcomes will guide implementation of a power training program into Gerofit programs aimed at enhancing mobility outcomes in older Veterans.