6 and 8 Studies have measured adherence to exercise programs in a range of ways, Panobinostat which makes comparison between studies difficult. Previous reviews have not systematically documented measurement methods and factors associated with adherence. The aims of this study were to systematically review prospective studies of older people’s adherence to exercise programs, in order to answer the following research questions: 1. In prospective studies focusing on adherence to exercise programs among older people,

how was adherence measured? An electronic search using the strategies outlined in Appendix 1 (see eAddenda) was conducted for five databases: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Scientific Electronic Library (SciELO), Latin American Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). The inclusion criteria for studies are

presented in Box 1. Eligible studies involved male and/or female participants with a mean age of over 65, were prospective in design and evaluated factors associated with adherence as a primary aim. Studies were excluded in which all participants had specific diseases or the sample did not consist only of older people. Studies published more than 10 years ago were also excluded, because the context was judged to be outdated. Design • Randomised trials Participants • Adults Intervention • Exercise programs Outcome measures • Participant adherence to the exercise program For each included study, descriptive data regarding participants, interventions,

GSK1210151A research buy measures of adherence, rate of adherence and factors associated with adherence were extracted, along with statistics indicating the strength of association. For each included study, two reviewers independently extracted the relevant data. If different data were extracted by the two reviewers, data were rechecked by both reviewers. second If disagreement continued, a third author arbitrated. The characteristics of the studies were summarised with descriptive statistics. The range of approaches for measuring adherence was noted and the number of studies measuring adherence with each approach was tallied. Comparable measures of adherence were summarised as ranges. The factors associated with adherence in each study were tabulated, including the strength of the association. The MEDLINE and EMBASE database searches via Ovid identified 838 articles, of which 17 papers were retrieved in full text. The SciELO search did not identify any studies. The LILACS search identified six studies, but none met the eligibility criteria. The PEDro search identified 13 articles, of which five were eligible. Therefore, a total of nine publications met the inclusion criteria. Reasons for exclusion are presented in Figure 1.