Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40685450›Full record

Trial reportThe Medical journal of Australia2025

The Telephysiotherapy for Older People (TOP-UP) program for improving mobility in people receiving aged care: a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation randomised controlled trial.

Rik Dawson, Marina Pinheiro, Juliana Oliveira, Abby Haynes, Vasikaran Naganathan, Morag E Taylor, Nina Bowes, Karn Nelson, Jenny Rayner, Catherine Sherrington

Erratum issuedAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The Medical journal of Australia, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Rik DawsonThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.ORCID 0000-0001-9652-4711
Marina PinheiroThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Juliana OliveiraThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Abby HaynesThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Vasikaran NaganathanThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Morag E TaylorThe University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Nina BowesUniting AgeWell, Melbourne, VIC.
Karn NelsonWhiddon Group, Sydney, NSW.
Jenny RaynerThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Catherine SherringtonThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

Funding

AGED CARE RESEARCH & INDUSTRY INNOVATION AUSTRALIA (ARIIA) R2GA00007Dementia Australia Research Foundation Nil
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess the effectiveness and implementation of a telephysiotherapy program for improving mobility, mobility goal attainment, and quality of life of people receiving at-home or residential aged care. STUDY

designHybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation randomised controlled trial. SETTING,

participantsPeople aged 65 years or older who were receiving community or residential aged care services in Australia, 1 September 2021 - 30 November 2023.

interventionTelephysiotherapy for Older People (TOP-UP): six-month program of ten telephysiotherapy (Zoom) sessions for assessment and tailored exercise prescription, supported by trained aged care workers and exercise videos.

main outcome measuresPrimary outcome: mobility (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB] score at baseline and six months). SECONDARY OUTCOMES: fall rate (per person), proportion of people with falls, SPPB components (sit-to-stand performance, balance, gait speed), pain (visual analogue scale), mobility goal attainment, physical activity (Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire), quality of life (EQ-5D-5L visual analogue scale).

resultsA total of 1348 people were screened at 27 sites, and 242 eligible people were recruited for the trial (mean age, 83 years [standard deviation, 8 years]; 158 women [65%]); 92 of 120 intervention group participants and 100 of 122 control group participants completed the six-month. After adjusting for baseline mobility scores, the mean difference in mobility score at six months (intervention v control group) was 2.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-2.7) points. Sit-to-stand performance was more likely to improve in intervention than control participants (adjusted odds ratio, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.3-4.3); intervention participants reported greater quality of life (EQ-5D-5L visual analogue scale: adjusted mean difference, 6.2 [95% CI, 1.8-10.7] points) and less pain (visual analogue scale: adjusted mean difference, -1.1 [95% CI, -1.8 to -0.3] points), and a smaller proportion experienced falls (29, 32% v 44, 44%; risk ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.42-0.92). Of 1348 screened people, 242 enrolled in the trial (18.0%), of whom 186 (77%) completed the trial, and 62 of 66 surveyed participants (94%) endorsed the intervention. No serious adverse events were recorded.

conclusionThe TOP-UP program safely improved mobility, reduced fall risk and pain, and improved quality of life for people receiving aged care. Telephysiotherapy could be incorporated into aged care to improve the lives of older Australians.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN 12621000734864 (prospective).

Indexed as

Exercise TherapyAccidental FallsAgedAged, 80 and overAustraliaFemaleHumansMaleMobility LimitationQuality of LifeTelemedicineAgingFallsHealth services for the agedPhysiotherapyTelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID40685450
PMCPMC12358105

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.