May 07, 2015 07:02 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Penn State College of Medicine received a $14 million grant for to study the effectiveness of a program for senior citizens, school officials announced.

The school received funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) for a program that integrating strength training, balance exercises and walking for older adults who have had a fall-related fracture.

"Less than 5 percent of older adults get as much exercise as is recommended to stay fit and strong and to avoid fractures," Christopher Sciamanna said in a statement. "After a fracture occurs, people get even less exercise because they are concerned about falling. This creates a vicious cycle in which each fall causes people to further limit their activities, which further increases the risk for falling."

With the money, Sciamanna and his team will enroll 2,000 adults at least 65 years old who have had a fall-related fracture for the three-year study.

To overcome these barriers, the study will have exercise groups led by trained volunteers in community settings. Using a coach can address hesitation to exercise caused by not knowing how to do so safely.

The researchers will examine the effect of the key outcomes important to patients, their doctors and insurance companies. In addition to recording fall-related injuries, the study will also assess muscle strength, bone strength, loneliness, depression and use of emergency medical care. Patient surveys determined these additional measures are important. Patient input has helped Sciamanna develop an exercise program, which helped inspire this study.

Sciamanna's award has been approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract.

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