2009 Age Plus Prize Winner: Dawn Gill

Dawn Gill
University of Western Ontario

The Phone-FITT: A Brief Physical Activity Interview for Older Adults

Physical activity has many benefits for older adults, one example being maintaining independence. Dr. Gill and her colleagues developed the 'Phone-FITT', which is a brief physical activity interview for older adults that can quickly measure a range of physical activities. This tool was evaluated in Canadian community-dwelling older adults and fills a void in appropriate physical activity assessment tools for fall prevention studies.

The Phone-FITT approach underwent numerous revisions before it was finalized. Dr. Gill and her colleagues tested reliability in Canadian World War II and Korean War veterans and their caregivers. Participants completed the Phone-FITT two times, one week apart. The researchers tested validity in older adults by comparing Phone-FITT scores with results from accelerometers (a device that measures non-gravitational accelerations).

The Phone-FITT is brief, covers a range of activities and is relatively easy to administer and score. For these reasons, it may be an ideal tool for large public health projects. This tool will quickly and easily identify older adults who might benefit from increased physical activity.

In winter 2009, Dr. Gill is conducting research in the area of functional decline and dementia. This project is a logical continuation of the work described in this project. In the future, Dr. Gill hopes to examine whether the Phone-FITT could be used in frailer older adults, such as those with dementia.

Dr. Gill is a Senior Fellow at the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, which is affiliated with the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. Her ultimate career goal is to obtain a faculty position involving research and teaching at a Canadian university.