A three-year, longitudinal, triangulation research method will be used. The study purpose of the first year is to develop a safe and appropriate SEB program for the elderly residents in long term care facilities using Delphi survey with a panel of 12 experts and pilot-testing on a group of 15-20 elderly residents in long term care facilities. In the second year of the study, a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design will be used to evaluate the effects of the SEB exercise program on the physical functional fitness (cardiovascular-respiratory function, body flexibility, muscle power/muscle endurance, and balance) and sleep quality of elderly residents in long term care facilities. Through the convenience sampling strategy, a total of four long term care facilities with approximately 120 elders in Kaohsiung will be recruited and randomly assigned based on the resided facilities to a SEB experimental group or a waiting-list control group. The subjects in the experimental group will receive the SEB interventions lead by the certified instructors, three times per week, 40 minutes per practice for six months; the subjects in the waiting-list control group will remain regular daily activities in the facilities. All subjects will receive one pre-test and two post-tests three months apart during the study. In the third year, the elderly participants will continue practicing the SEB guided by a VCD for another nine months, and the compliance of the participants toward regular SEB exercise and its long-term effects on the physical functional fitness and sleep quality outcomes will be tested with additional three post-tests, three months apart.
The goals of this research project are: 1) to develop and evaluate the safety and feasibility of the Senior Elastic Band (SEB) exercise program for elderly residents in long term care facilities, 2) to evaluate the long-term effects of the SEB on physical functional fitness and sleep quality of elderly residents in long term care facilities, and 3) to investigate the compliance of elderly residents with long-term SEB exercises.