  Sufficient physical activity can prolong the ability of older adults to live
inde-pendently. Community-based exercise programs can be enhanced by regularly
performing exercises at home. To support such a home-based exercise program, a
blended intervention was developed that combined the use of a tablet
application with a personal coach. The purpose of the current study was to
explore to which extent tablet engagement predicted exercise adherence and
physical activity. The results show that older adults (n=133; M=71 years of
age) that participated 6 months in a randomized controlled trial, performed at
average 12 home-based ex-ercised per week and exercised on average 3 days per
week, thereby meeting WHO guidelines. They used the tablet app on average 7
times per week. Multiple linear regressions revealed that the use of the app
statistically predicted the num-ber of exercises that were performed and the
number of exercise days. Physical activity, however, did not increase and also
could not be predicted by exercise frequency or app use. We conclude that
engagement with a tablet can contribute to sustained exercise behavior.
