Objective: To assess the effect of a comprehensive geriatric assessment and individually tailored intervention on mobility in older people. In addition, the effectiveness of the geriatric intervention was evaluated among a subgroup of persons with musculoskeletal pain.
Design: Three-year geriatric development project with randomized assignment to intervention and control group.
Setting: Research centre, community and assisted living facilities.
Participants: Seven hundred and eighty-one Finnish persons aged 75–98 years were assigned to an intervention (n = 404) or control (n = 377) group.
Intervention: A comprehensive geriatric assessment with a multifactorial intervention lasting two years. The intervention included individualized referrals, recommendations, physical activity counselling and supervised resistance training.
Measurements: Perceived limitation in walking 400m was gathered annually during the intervention and at the one-year post-intervention follow-up.
Results: The proportion of persons with mobility limitation at the beginning, at the two-year intervention and at the one-year post-intervention follow-up was 16%, 15%, 12% and 14%, respectively, in the intervention group. In the control group, the corresponding proportions were 19%, 18%, 23% and 26%. The treatment effect was significant at the end of the two-year intervention (odds ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval 0.70–0.96, P = 0.013), and at the one-year post-intervention follow-up (0.84, 0.75–0.94, P = 0.002). The parallel positive effect of the intervention on mobility was even greater among persons with musculoskeletal pain.
Conclusion: The comprehensive geriatric assessment and individually tailored multifactorial intervention had a positive effect on mobility, underlining their importance in health promotion and disability prevention in older people.
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