Pre-post evaluation of nursing home residents’ quality of life after 16-20-weeks participation in the trishaw-passenger initiative Cycling Without Age

Abstract

Abstract Background The "Cycling Without Age" initiative offers trishaw rides to nursing home residents, hoping to promote mobility, social interaction, and engagement, and enhancing mental health. However, empirical research investigating the effect on health and well-being is limited. Aim To evaluate if participation in “Cycling Without Age” is associated with increased quality of life. Methods The study was a 16-20-week quasi-experimental single-arm study, using a pre-post evaluation with participants acting as their own controls. A total of 52 participants (median age: 79.5 (IQR: 12.0)) from 17 Danish nursing homes were enrolled. Data was obtained through interview-based questionnaires and health examination tests for cognitive and physical functioning. The main outcome was quality of life measured by the 10-point Cantril ladder of life satisfaction. Secondly, mental health, self-efficacy, self-perceived health, loneliness, self-perceived pain, sleep quality, 6-min walk test, handgrip strength, cognitive function, and physical function and mood were examined. Changes in outcomes were analysed as mean differences by paired-sample t-tests, McNemar’s or the Marginal Homogeneity test. Results The mean difference from baseline to follow-up in quality of life was + 0.94 (p = 0.040). Subgroup analyses of quality of life showed that the increase was only significant among men, participants with very low physical functioning, participants with probability of cognitive impairment, and residents participating in < 6 trishaw rides. A significant increase in mood-score of 1.01 (p = 0.001) immediately after trishaw rides was also observed. Conclusion Findings suggest that participation in “Cycling Without Age” has an immediate significant impact on mood and is associated with a significant improved quality of life among nursing homes residents, escpecially among men and individuals with low cognitive and physical function. The study makes a valuable contribution to the field of public health by showing that trishaw activity for nursing home residents driven by volunteers can offer great potential for community-based health-promotion. Trial registration: The study was approved by the Scientific Ethical Committee at the Capital Region of Denmark (number H-20010668) and registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number: NCT04536779).