Translating An Exercise Clinical Trial For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities Into Community-based Practice

: Less than 10% of adults with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) meet the recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines due to numerous barriers to participation (i.e. transportation, support needs, disability-informed trainers). Implementing evidence-based exercise programs for individuals with IDD in community settings is imperative to improve PA in this population. PURPOSE: Our team has designed and tested a remote-based exercise program, MOVE-DS©, for individuals with IDD in multiple clinical trials and are now assessing the implementation of this program in community settings. METHODS: We have assessed the feasibility of community implementation of MOVE-DS© in two ways: 1). Providing low-cost ($20/month for 8 sessions) fee-for-service virtual exercise classes (~45 mins.) for individuals with IDD in the community and 2). Piloting a twice weekly, 12-week implementation trial of the exercise program in disability service agency day service setting. We measured attendance, retention, intervention acceptability and usability, and class satisfaction with caregivers and participants in both settings using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Since starting the ongoing fee-for-service community program, we have enrolled 19 participants (24.8 ± 8 years, 68.4% female) who have attended an average of 110.5 ± 96 sessions. Those currently enrolled have participated for M = 2.36 years. Of all enrollees, 63.1% continue to participate. When piloting MOVE-DS© in day service setting, we enrolled a group of 8 participants (32 ± 9 years, 50% female) with 4 staff members assisting implementation. We retained 87.5% of participants. Agency staff members rated the intervention’s usability as 72/100, exceeding the usability threshold of 70. 100% of staff approved of the program and suggested that 2-3 staff members are needed to facilitate the program in a day service setting. Of participants, 87% reported liking the class and exercises and stated that it was easy to attend. CONCLUSION: There is a paucity of adapted exercise programs for individuals with IDD. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of translating of a remote-delivered evidence-based exercise program used in clinical trials to community members and disability service agencies with high acceptability. Supported by: NIH AG063909; NIH P20GM144269