Project Grant R01AG088115

VOCALE Digital Intervention Research and Development

The University of Washington received a $505,948 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 – Aging Research) effective March 1, 2026, through February 28, 2031, to develop and evaluate VOCALE, a web-based digital intervention designed to reduce frailty and improve quality of life among independently living residents in continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). The deliverables include execution of a Stage II and Stage III randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 128 frail CCRC residents over an eight-week intervention period. VOCALE is specifically engineered for older adults with limited digital literacy, providing low-bandwidth, asynchronous access to self-care resources, peer support, and problem-solving tools targeting frailty prevention.

The research will generate evidence on VOCALE's efficacy, mechanisms of action, and implementation feasibility within CCRC settings. Preliminary pilot data from 28 residents aged 66–92 demonstrated clinically significant improvements in quality of life (10-point RAND-36 score improvement) and large effect sizes in physical function and fatigue reduction, with sustained engagement and attrition rates of 20–25 percent. This confirmatory and exploratory trial will establish whether this scalable digital intervention can effectively address the high prevalence of frailty affecting over half of the approximately 700,000 residents across 2,000 CCRCs in the United States, while overcoming implementation barriers such as limited facility space and staffing constraints.