Clinical Research Directory

Intrinsic Capacity, Resilience, and Meaning in Life in Community-Dwelling Midlife and Older Adults

This prospective observational cohort (panel) study aims to understand how intrinsic capacity, resilience, and meaning in life are related and how they change over time in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults who participate in community center programs in Taiwan. Intrinsic capacity is a concept proposed by the World Health Organization to describe an older person's overall physical and mental abilities, while resilience refers to the ability to bounce back from difficulties, and meaning in life refers to how people feel that their lives are valuable and purposeful. Participants aged 55 years and older will be recruited from collaborating community centers. They will be assessed twice: once at the beginning of their participation in community center programs (baseline) and again at the end of the current community center program (follow-up), which usually occurs about 3 to 6 months after baseline as part of the centers' usual schedule, without any intervention assigned by the study. At each time point, participants will complete assessments of intrinsic capacity, resilience, meaning in life, and sociodemographic background, and will undergo brief physical performance tests, such as walking-related and strength-related measures. At the follow-up assessment, a small number of participants will also be selected and invited to take part in semi-structured qualitative interviews about meaning in life. The main hypotheses are that intrinsic capacity, resilience, and meaning in life will change over time; that intrinsic capacity will be positively associated with meaning in life; and that resilience may mediate the relationship between intrinsic capacity and meaning in life. Sociodemographic information will be collected for descriptive analysis and to describe the sample, but it is not specified as a study variable in the hypothesis framework. In addition, the study will use supplementary physical function measures to better understand how the locomotion domain of intrinsic capacity is reflected by different mobility assessments. A small subsample of participants will be invited to take part in qualitative interviews to enrich and contextualize the observed associations between intrinsic capacity and meaning in life. These interviews are intended to provide a more complete understanding of this relationship and to reflect participants' lived experiences, rather than to establish causal relationships. This study seeks to address the limited longitudinal evidence on the association between intrinsic capacity and meaning in life in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. The findings are expected to help people better understand how these constructs are related over time and to provide useful information for planning community-based programs that support healthy aging.

Developing a Balance Rehabilitation System for Older Adults, Based on IMU and AI: Personalized Training and Preventive Strategies

The aging physiological state of the elderly may lead to problems such as unstable gait, balance disorders, and falls. Previous research has confirmed that exercise training can help improve the physical function, quality of life, and reduce the risk of falls in the elderly. In order to achieve effective and continuous intervention training, somatosensory games have become a trend in recent years. Among them, the use of non-immersive virtual reality training methods not only provides training for the elderly, but also reduces the discomfort caused by the virtual environment; however, there are some limitations in clinical rehabilitation training methods, such as the lack of data-based evaluation and personalization. In order to solve the above problems, this research plan will use the inertial measurement unit as a tool for clinical monitoring and human movement assessment, and use artificial intelligence technology to evaluate and adjust the training plan according to its gait characteristics to achieve personalization Training and prevention strategies.

OTAGO Exercise Program and Motivational Interviewing

The goal of this study is to see if OTAGO instructors, who have been trained in a special communication method called motivational interviewing, can help older adults start and stick with the OTAGO exercise program. The results will help guide future research on how behavior change techniques can support other fall prevention strategies.

Effect of Personalised Citizen Assistance for Social Participation(APIC) on Older Adults Health and Social Participation

Global aging and the growing burden of chronic diseases represent a challenge. Innovative interventions acting upon health determinants, like social participation, are required. Social participation, defined as the involvement of a person in activities that provide interactions with others in the community is critical to promote health and prevent disabilities. Many older adults do not have equitable opportunities to achieve full social participation, and interventions under-empower their personal and environmental resources and only reach a minority. To optimize current practices, the Personalised citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), an intervention demonstrated as being feasible and having positive impacts, needs further evaluation. The first aim of this study is evaluate the impacts of the APIC on older adults' health, social participation, life satisfaction and healthcare services utilisation. The second aim is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. In parallel, the implementation of the APIC, including factors facilitating and impeding it, will be documented. Concerning the first two objectives, two hypotheses are formulated: 1) the APIC will prevent a decline in older women's and men's health, social participation and life satisfaction, and reduce their use of healthcare services, and 2) the APIC will be associated with lower costs, from older adults', healthcare system and societal perspectives, including healthcare expenditures.

Nationwide Multi-dimensional Health Promotion Program for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Global organizations advocate for "active" and "healthy aging," emphasizing preventive health promotion. Taiwan's Long-Term Care 2.0 and the National Health Administration's "Healthy Exercise Class" exemplify this. Evaluating these programs' effectiveness is crucial, but complex due to diverse influencing factors. This study focuses on the often-overlooked role of program leaders' facilitation skills in impacting program success. This study investigates the effectiveness of multi-domain community health promotion programs for older adults and its influencing factors. Specifically, it aims to: 1. assess the immediate benefits (objective/subjective health status, satisfaction) for participating older adults. 2. explore related factors (group leadership skills, personal factors) using Andersen's Behavioral Model. A prospective, single-group, pre- and post-test design will be used. Participants (leaders and older adults) will be recruited from "Healthy Exercise Class" sites nationwide. Pre- and post-intervention data will be analyzed to determine program effectiveness. Multiple linear regression will identify influencing factors, including the mediating and moderating effects of leader facilitation skill confidence. The study aims to inform policy improvements for government-led older adult health promotion.

Trajectory of Frailty and Cognitive Dysfunction in Older Adults

To explore the heterogeneity of the development trend of frailty and cognitive function of older adults.