Monitoring exercise delivery to increase participation adherence in older adults with alzheimer's disease

There are many established benefits of exercise for older adults. Emerging studies suggest that it may even be able to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older adults with the disease. However, it is yet unknown how bedside nurses can monitor ongoing exercise participation in this population due to the complexity and impact of AD symptoms. The purpose of this study is to provide bedside nurses with tools to capture actual received exercise doses to ensure adequate exercise participation by older adults with AD. This study is a secondary data analysis of a master study in which 8 participants who were clinically diagnosed with AD participated in moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 10 to 45 minutes, three times per week, for 6 months. The results show that participants were able to meet the overall exercise prescription 74.3% of the time. The findings of this study suggest that bedside nurses are able to monitor the actual exercise delivery (frequency, intensity, and duration) to ensure exercise participation.