Does action follow intention with participation in home and group-based falls prevention exercise programs? An exploratory, prospective, observational study

• A majority of older adults (>65%) are disinclined to participate in falls prevention exercise programs.
• Intention had little impact on participation for home-based exercise, but was an important factor for group-based exercise.
• A perception that exercise would be effective for the patient and previous exposure to the exercise intervention were most strongly predictive of future participation.

BackgroundExercise for falls prevention is effective but of limited uptake in real life. The link between intention and behavior is central to many health-behavior models, but has not been examined in the falls prevention exercise context.ObjectiveThis study examines this relationship and prospectively identifies factors associated with participation in group and home-based falls prevention exercise.DesignThis was an observational study of community-dwelling adults in Australia >70 years of age with a 12 month follow-up (n = 394 commenced baseline assessment, n = 247 commenced follow-up).MethodsIntention, and other potential predictive factors examined, were measured at baseline while participation was measured using self-report at 12 month follow-up.ResultsBetween 65% and 72% of our sample at baseline agreed or strongly agreed they would participate in the falls prevention exercise programs. n = 27 respondents participated in home-based exercise during follow-up and had intention to do so while n = 29 who participated did not have intention. In contrast, n = 43 respondents participated in group exercise and had intention to do so compared to 11 who participated but did not intend to at baseline. Perception of personal effectiveness and previous exposure to the exercise intervention were most strongly predictive of future participation.ConclusionMore people who do not want to participate in home exercise actually participate in home exercise than people who do not want to participate in group exercise that actually do. It may be easier to convince people who do not want to participate in falls prevention exercise to participate in a home program.