Objectives

Lack of physical activity presents substantial health risks to older adults living in residential aged care facilities. The objective of this review was to examine the suitability of physical activity outcome measurement instruments among cognitively sound residents.

Methods

Search terms were used to explore health, nursing and social science databases to identify applicable English-language research from January 2000 to July 2020.

Results

Sixteen papers met the inclusion criteria. The findings show that a diverse range of outcome measurement instruments have been used to evaluate physical activity intervention effectiveness. Most were found not to be validated for use specifically with residential aged care populations.

Conclusions

A range of Outcome Measurement Instruments (OMI) appear to effectively measure physical activity intervention outcomes among residential aged care older adults. Results highlighted the need for greater rigour in study design and selection of valid and population-appropriate instruments for use with this population.