Background
fatigue, COME, muscle pain, weakness, Fatigue
OVEREXERTION
Fatigue caused by the physiological changes of ageing is a common, self-reported, debilitating symptom among older adults, affecting their physical and psychological wellbeing [Physical exercise training, a commonly used non-pharmacological intervention, has effectively reduced ageing-related fatigue [Older adults with fatigue may avoid exercising because physical overexertion may induce muscle pain and weakness. This explains why older adults frequently cite fatigue as a cause of their non-adherence to or withdrawal from exercise programmes [Studies have shown that personalised behavioural strategies could provide approaches to dealing with problems of motivation, goal setting, cognitive restrictions, and social support for sedentary older adults, leading to an increase in their self-efficacy, control beliefs, and adherence to exercise programmes [Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether an individualised exercise programme with BCE strategies guided by the HAPA model could enhance self-efficacy in complying with an exercise regime, leading to a reduction in fatigue among frail older people. It was hypothesised that participants who received a combined intervention of individualised exercise and the BCE intervention (COME), and those who received individualised exercise (EXER) would demonstrate a significant reduction in fatigue immediately after the 16-week intervention (T1), and at 6 months (T2) and 12 months (T3) post-intervention when compared with the control (health talks) groups. However, the reduction in fatigue would be more significant and more sustainable in the COME group compared to the EXER and control groups at all measurement time points (T1-3).