OTAGO Exercise Programme Leader

Aims and Objectives

• To provide an understanding of the rationale behind the OEP design, service implementation, and the principles of exercise programming and the guidelines for leading exercise for frailer older people in 1-2-1 and group settings.
• To provide the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to deliver the OEP safely and effectively to frailer older people with a high risk, or history of falls, and to understand the differing skills and qualifications required for implementing the programme.
• To provide information about the health and falls prevention benefits of exercise and the impact of falls on older people.

Content

The Course consists of the original 22 OTAGO Exercise Programme exercises, designed to prevent falls and improve balance, strength and confidence, that made up the original OTAGO Exercise Programme home exercise study design. There are some additional warm up and cool down exercises to ensure current international guidelines are followed. The specific order and progressions for each exercise is predetermined for OEP Leaders by LLT.

Underpinning knowledge covers the rate of ageing and falls in the ageing population and the effects of physical activity on health, physical performance, movement control, confidence and quality of life in old age. Learners will practice leading the OTAGO exercises under the guidance of highly skilled tutor; exercise technique, safety, communication skills and safe management skills are emphasized in order for the OEP to be delivered in small groups.

The OEP can be lead by a range of health professionals, and exercise leaders/instructors and should be implemented as part of a broader falls prevention service. L2 OEP Leaders should be working as part of an agreed pathway where by suitability for participation in the OEP is assessed by an appropriate health professional.

Blended Learning Approach

Online Pre-course training
LLT have developed an online training portal designed to give more flexibility, reduce travel costs and time required off work and allow theory elements of the training to be completed in your own time. LLT are still committed to face to face/practical workshops and all these remain in place for your training, it is the theory elements that lend themselves well to self-directed learning that will be placed onto the online portal for your convenience.

How will the online training portal work?

• We will send by post the manuals you will need for the training
• We will email you an enrolment key (password) to access some resources prior to attending the face to face training, so when you attend the training you have already learnt a lot about the OEP which means we can really focus on your practical skills when we see you
• There will be FOUR narrated PowerPoint presentations for you to watch and listen to
• There are videos of all the OEP exercises for you to watch
• Once you have watched all of these, there is an MCQ quiz for you to complete online plus a short answer worksheet for you to complete and send to us (both of these form part of your assessment/award) prior to the face to face training.

IMPORTANT: The online tasks are mandatory to complete before the face to face training. Please note we do not recommend using smartphones or tablets for the e-learning work.

Completion of the online elements will require you to have;

• Access to computer & reliable internet
• A minimum of 8 hours will be required to read manuals, watch the PowerPoints and complete the pre-course online tasks

Software and Hardware requirements for your use of the training portal
There are no hardware requirements. There are software requirements – the minimum browser version that can be used is: recent Google Chrome(30+), recent Mozilla Firefox(25+), Safari 6, Internet Explorer 9 or 10.

Face to face training
Following the online pre-course learning, the face to face training will focus on the leading and teaching skills of the OEP to prepare you for your practical assessment.

The face to face course runs over 3 full days (9 am – 5.15 pm). 2 face to face course days followed by 1 day practical assessment. This course runs over a minimum of 4 weeks to allow task oriented practice before the assessment.

Resources

Each candidate receives a copy of the "How to Lead" Manual developed by Later Life Training. Candidates can freely download the original OTAGO Exercise Programme Manual from New Zealand (from enrolled course page), an OEP home exercise booklet for their clients, and can purchase the audio files of the exercises so that they can burn the files onto a CD for older people to play them on their CD player or transfer them to an iPod.

Certification

Successful learners will receive a Later Life Training Certificate – OTAGO Exercise Programme Leaders Award.
Important: We are in the process of reviewing the course with a view to applying for CIMSPA CPD endorsement.

Level of Certification
The course has been aligned with NVQ Level 2 in Care and Level 2 in Exercise and Fitness. The course will provide evidence which can be used towards specific units of NVQs but will not in itself cover the full range of an NVQ unit. Attendance Only certificates will be given as appropriate.

The OEP can be lead by a range of health professionals (i.e physiotherapists), and highly qualified exercise leaders/instructors (L3/L4) who have additional skills and professional working parameters and should be implemented as part of a broader falls prevention service. L2 OEP Leaders should be working as part of an agreed pathway where by suitability for participation in the OEP is assessed by an appropriate health professional.

The OEP is an evidence based home exercise programme with a group exercise application. It is a L2 course because it is a 'pre-set' programme of exercises, where OEP Leaders work alongside other health professionals and as part of a broader falls prevention service. Only higher skilled health professionals (physiotherapists) or L4 PSI's may identify patient suitability and exercise progressions. Not all OEP Leaders are the same (they can range from health professionals to L2 instructors, L3 and L4 instructors) therefore some OEP Leaders can undertake elements of the programme that other OEP Leaders may not. For this reason it does not align 'simply' to the current training framework for exercise professionals. Issues of insurance are complex and varied and dependent on whether instructors are REPs registered will impact on pre-requisites required for insurance to be valid. Not all insurance providers are the same either.

At the point that an older person commences a group or 1-2-1 exercise programme, someone must be accountable for ensuring that they are in the right place/programme. Not all OEP Leaders are the same because it depends on their other qualifications as to whether they have the skills to recognise whether the person is suitable. Taking a broader view of a service, we advise that physiotherapy form part of your steering group for agreeing inclusion criteria for OEP in any setting because this helps develop the partnership working that will benefit the service, and the individual. We don't want people going straight to OEP if there is a suggestion that they have medical issues and really need a more comprehensive falls assessment.

As a standard recommendation to ensure you are clear about insurance you hold, we/LLT recommend that you contact your insurance provider prior to applying for any training with us. Because OEP is a little different to other certificates and in line with our commitment to support leaders and instructors in increasing evidence based exercise for older people and frailer older people, we consulted with CMC Insurance in order to provide a solution.