ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT07835503ALIFEUpdated Sep 23, 2026

The Assisted Lifestyle-Intergrated Functional Exercise Program in Older Adults Living in Residential Care Facilities

An interventional study of ALIFE exercise program and OTAGO exercise program in Older Adults Living in Residential Care Facilities, sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Completed at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 60 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-23.

Sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled May 2025, registered Sep 2026).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
49
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
60 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-12

Among 37 studies in Motor Activity by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University — 16 open to participants now, 17 under way, none of them phase 3. Motor Activity · The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Enrollment
30th of 36
49 · median 80
Started
2025
with 5 others
No phase
35 of 37
14 open now
Registered
34th of 37
by date

Among the 37 studies in Motor Activity by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, this one is the 30th largest by enrollment of the 36 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 6 that started in 2025, is one of 35 with no phase, and was the 34th registered.

Motor Activity

9,798 studies on the registry are indexed under Motor Activity; 1,910 are open to participants now.

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Open to participants now

16 of the 37 studies in Motor Activity by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University are open now, in 1 country. Recruiting first, the newest first:

11 more — sign in →

By country, each count listing its studies:

All 16 open studies →

Where they have run

Who these studies take

Of the 1,201 Motor Activity studies recruiting now, 517 (43%) set no upper age limit and 535 (45%) stop at 75 or younger; 180 take children under 18; 420 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 60 Years and older · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.

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02

Study summary

More than half of older adults living in care homes experience a fall each year, which can cause serious injuries, hospital visits, and a loss of independence. While balance and muscle-strengthening exercises help prevent falls, traditional exercise programs are often difficult for care home residents to maintain because they require set schedules and unfamiliar movements, especially for those experiencing cognitive problems.

To address this challenge, our 12-week study evaluated the Assisted Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (ALIFE) program across six residential care homes. Rather than holding separate workout sessions, ALIFE weaves personalized balance and strengthening activities directly into daily routines-such as rising from a chair or practicing steady standing while grooming. Visiting physiotherapists tailored the movements to each resident's needs, while trained care home staff offered gentle reminders and encouragement throughout the program. The investigators compared ALIFE to a traditional structured Otago exercise program (OTAGO) to determine if this approach is feasible, safe, and enjoyable for residents.

The investigators expect this lifestyle-based exercise program to be safe, enjoyable, and more effective than the traditional exercise program at helping residents preserve their balance and muscle strength. If successful, it will provide care homes with a practical, low-cost way to turn everyday habits into health-promoting activities without needing expensive equipment. Ultimately, these findings could guide future clinical practice and larger studies aimed at helping older adults stay mobile, confident, and independent.

03

Conditions studied

  • Older Adults Living in Residential Care Facilities

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Keywords

  • Feasibility
  • Accidental falls
  • Exercise
  • Residential facilities
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
60 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Are at least 60 years old,
  2. Are permanently residing in care facilities,
  3. Are able to walk 10 meters with or without a walking aid independently,
  4. And their main caregiver (e.g., health and social care professionals working in the residential care facilities) can provide written consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Have a diagnosis of a terminal illness,
  2. Have participated in a structured balance or muscle strengthening program in the past 6 months,
  3. Are unsafe to participate in an exercise program due to any severe or unstable medical illness (e.g., advanced Parkinson's disease, acute exacerbation of knee osteoarthritis, and unstable angina), and
  4. Are unable to communicate due to severe visual or hearing impairment,
  5. Have a score below 10 in the Hong Kong version of the , indicating that they have moderate to severe cognitive impairment.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

MMSE and MoCA

Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
49 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    ALIFE

    Behavioral: ALIFE exercise program

  • Active comparator
    OTAGO

    Behavioral: OTAGO exercise program

Interventions

  • BehavioralALIFE exercise program

    Residents who will be assigned to the ALIFE exercise program will perform balance and muscle strengthening exercises together with associated daily activities for 12 weeks. Outreach physiotherapists will assess the daily routine of participants in the participating facilities. The physiotherapists will help participants to set realistic exercise goals, selecte appropriate balance and muscle strengthening exercises, and pair them with the preferred daily activities. Participants will be recommended to perform the exercises at least once per day whenever the opportunity arises during each day. Personal care workers in the facilities will serve as the facilitators who will provide positive encouragement and remind participants to perform the exercises.

  • BehavioralOTAGO exercise program

    The OTAGO exercise program is a structured balance and muscle strengthening exercises tailored to the needs and ability of each participant. Based on the balance, muscle strengthen, and mobility levels of participants at baseline, the outreaching physiotherapists will select the appropriate balance and muscle strengthening exercises for participants. They recommend participants to perform the assigned exercises at least once per day. Participants will also be encouraged to walk every day at their usual speed with their walking aids (if any) as often as possible.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Retention rate

    Proportion (%) of enrolled participants who completed the post-intervention assessment at 12 weeks.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  2. Adverse event counts

    Number of adverse events reported by participants and interventionists throughout the 12 weeks

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  3. Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES)

    Physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES) scores at 6 weeks and 12 weeks. The PACES is an 8-item instrument scored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), yielding a total score between 8 and 56. A higher score denotes greater exercise enjoyment.

    Time frame: 6 weeks and 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Balance

    Berg Balance Scale (BBS) - a 14-tem assessment tool evaluating static and dynamic balance. The score ranges from 0 to 56. A higher score indicates better balance.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  2. Mobility

    Timed Up and Go test

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  3. Lower limb muscle strength

    30-second sit to stand test

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  4. Global cognition

    Montreal Cognitive Assessment uses a maximum total score of 30 points distributed across 7 main cognitive categories. The range of score is 0 to 30. A higher score indicates better cognitive function.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  5. Attention

    Digit Span Test Forward

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  6. Working memory

    Digit Span Test Backward

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  7. Fear of falling

    Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale - a 10-item assessment tool evaluating fear of falling in daily activities. The score ranges from 10 to 40. A higher score indicates great concern of falling.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

  8. Depressive symptoms

    Geriatric Depression Scale - a 15-tem assessment tool evaluating depressive symptoms in older adults. The score ranges from 0 to 15. A higher score indicates higher level of depressive symptoms.

    Time frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Hong Kong, Hong Kong
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from May 2025 to primary completion in Jan 2026, 8 months.

Of 5,147 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Motor Activity, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 36. This study's 8 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 5,207 studies reached it within 17 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 36.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 6, 2026
First posted
Sep 23, 2026
StartActual
May 1, 2025
Primary completionActual
Jan 31, 2026
CompletionActual
Jan 31, 2026
Last update
Sep 23, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 23, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07835503
Collaborators
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited
Responsible party
Dr. Wayne Chan (Assistant Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 23, 2026
Start date
May 1, 2025
Primary completion
Jan 31, 2026
Completion
Jan 31, 2026
Last update
Sep 23, 2026

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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