Walking All over COVID-19: The Rapid Development of STRIDE in Your Room, an Innovative Approach to Enhance a Hospital-Based Walking Program during the Pandemic

Jaime M Hughes; John T Bartle; Ashley L Choate; Elizabeth P Mahanna; Cassie L Meyer; Matthew C Tucker; Virginia Wang; Kelli D Allen; Courtney H Van Houtven; Susan Nicole Hastings

doi:10.3390/geriatrics6040109

Walking All over COVID-19: The Rapid Development of STRIDE in Your Room, an Innovative Approach to Enhance a Hospital-Based Walking Program during the Pandemic

Geriatrics (Basel). 2021 Nov 10;6(4):109. doi: 10.3390/geriatrics6040109.

Authors

Jaime M Hughes^{1

2

3}, John T Bartle⁴, Ashley L Choate³, Elizabeth P Mahanna³, Cassie L Meyer³, Matthew C Tucker³, Virginia Wang^{3

5

6

7}, Kelli D Allen^{3

8}, Courtney H Van Houtven^{3

5

7

9}, Susan Nicole Hastings^{3

5

6

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Implementation Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
² Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
³ Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁴ Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁵ Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁶ Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁷ Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
⁸ Department of Medicine and Thurston Arthritis Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27705, USA.
⁹ Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
¹⁰ Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC 27705, USA.

Abstract

Hospitalization is common among older adults. Prolonged time in bed during hospitalization can lead to deconditioning and functional impairments. Our team is currently working with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers across the United States to implement STRIDE (assiSTed eaRly mobIlity for hospitalizeD older vEterans), a hospital-based walking program designed to mitigate the risks of immobility during hospitalization. However, the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person, or face-to-face, walking challenging due to social distancing recommendations and infection control concerns. In response, our team applied principles of implementation science, including stakeholder engagement, prototype development and refinement, and rapid dissemination and feedback, to create STRIDE in Your Room (SiYR). Consisting of self-guided exercises, light exercise equipment (e.g., TheraBands, stress ball, foam blocks, pedometer), the SiYR program provided safe alternative activities when face-to-face walking was not available during the pandemic. We describe the methods used in developing the SiYR program; present feedback from participating sites; and share initial implementation experiences, lessons learned, and future directions.

Keywords: activity; hospitalization; implementation science; mobility; older adults; rehabilitation.

Abstract

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