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. 2023 Jun 22:14:1221030.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1221030. eCollection 2023.

Retention of older veterans with serious mental illness in a clinical exercise program

Julia Browne  1   2   3 , Eric B Elbogen  4   5 , Kim T Mueser  6 , James L Rudolph  1   7 , Wen Chih Wu  8 , Noah S Philip  9 , Whitney L Mills  1   7 , Alexander S Young  10   11 , Richard Sloane  3   12 , Katherine S Hall  3   12
Affiliations

Retention of older veterans with serious mental illness in a clinical exercise program

Julia Browne et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Older adults with serious mental illness (SMI) have compromised physical function that could be improved with exercise; however, retention in exercise programs is a challenge. This study was a retrospective analysis of retention for the 150 older veterans with SMI that enrolled in Gerofit, a clinical exercise program offered in the Veterans Health Administration. Chi-square and t-tests were conducted to evaluate baseline differences between those that were and were not retained at six and 12 months. Retention was 33% and better health-related quality of life and endurance were related to retention. Future work is needed to improve exercise program retention in this population.

Keywords: bipolar disorder; dropout; engagement; physical activity; recurrent major depressive disorder; schizophrenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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