Older Adult Safety in Surgery IV (OASIS)

Surgery is a life-saving procedure for patients with cancer and can enhance quality of life for patients with intractable abdominal, urologic, thoracic, or other major disease. Although most patients tolerate the procedure well, frail older adults have as much as a threefold increase in the risk of adverse outcomes after surgery. The proposal will assess the role of a walking intervention in the surgical context over multiple dimensions of physical status-endurance, balance, gait speed, strength, and self-reported function. The investigators will be collecting data on patients who may be undergoing any abdominal, urologic, thoracic, or other major surgery.

The investigators will be introducing a home walking prescription where subjects will self-monitor the amount of walking with use of a fit-bit type wristband pedometer. Via remote coaching and use of the pedometer, the investigators hope to increase the amount of steps over a period of time prior to surgery. A research grade monitor will then be utilized in order to be able to track steps post surgery during the hospital stay. By increasing movement pre and post surgery, the investigators hope to demonstrate that such a program can reduce the incidence of adverse outcomes or improve physical status assessments such as endurance, balance, gait speed, strength, and self-reported function. Patients will be randomized in a 1:1 fashion into intervention and control groups using a prespecified table generated by our study statistician.

Intervention patients will receive a walking prescription and weekly calls from a study staff member. Patients will be given a pedometer to be worn on their wrist, a phone , and a phone charger. Patients will be instructed to synchronize their pedometer to the provided phone once a day. For three days following the baseline visit, patients will be instructed to walk their usual amount. A study staff member will then provide the initial walking prescription based on the participants' baseline performance on the three of baseline walking and will focus the participant on walking at a moderate intensity (level of approximately 3 on the modified Borg Perceived Exertional Scale;14 laminated Borg scales will be distributed to participants).

Participants may walk steps over the course of a day or in one session. The initial walking prescription will also provide instructions to the participant to increase his/her number of steps each week by 10 to 20%.

Study Visits for intervention subjects. Baseline visit (consent)- If agree to participate in the study this group will receive weekly phone calls from a study staff member until the surgery. Following the baseline visit, subjects will also be seen during their preoperative surgical evaluation visit, on the day of their surgery, on approximately the third or fourth day following the surgery or date of discharge if length of stay is less than three days, at approximately 30 days following surgery and a phone call approximately 6 months following the surgery.

Study visits for control frail and control non-frail subjects Baseline visit (consent)- If agree to participate in the study a study staff member will provide general walking advice with typical warnings about when to stop (e.g., chest pain, breathing difficulty, or fall) and will have a follow up phone call approximately 6 months following the surgery. Control subjects will receive no other intervention.

Both groups will be asked to complete a log of their physical activities. Patient data collection will continue for up to one year after the day of surgery.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 60 and older
• Undergoing any abdominal, thoracic, urologic, or other major surgery
• Independently ambulatory
• Patient should be within 3-8 weeks of surgery
• Estimated length of hospital stay after surgery two days or more

Exclusion criteria

for screening:

• Non-adults
• Prisoners
• Non-English language speaker for whom short form consent is not available

Exclusion criteria

for randomized controlled trial:

• Unstable angina or stable angina with minimal exertion or at rest
• Visual impairment such that walking impairs safety
• Fall within previous three months
• Resting heart rate of more than 120, a systolic blood pressure of more than 180 mm Hg, or a diastolic blood pressure of more than 100 mm Hg
• Patient who does not walk independently (e.g. wheel chair; cane walking is okay)