Baseline characteristics of the intention-to-treat population
| Characteristics | Intervention group (n=104) | Control group (n=137) |
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |
| Age (years) | 65.25 (9.77) | 67.42 (8.7) |
| Sex | n (%) | n (%) |
| Male | 40 (38.5%) | 68 (49.6%) |
| Female | 64 (61.5%) | 69 (50.4%) |
| Living arrangements | ||
| Living communally | 88 (84.6%) | 109 (79.6%) |
| Living alone | 16 (15.4%) | 28 (20.4%) |
| Marital status | ||
| Partnered | 84 (80.8%) | 106 (77.4%) |
| Not partnered | 10 (9.6%) | 18 (11.6%) |
| Widowed | 10 (9.6%) | 13 (9.5%) |
| Country of birth | ||
| Australia | 76 (73.1%) | 101 (73.7%) |
| UK | 11 (10.6%) | 10 (7.3%) |
| Other | 8 (7.7%) | 11 (8.0%) |
| Europe | 6 (5.8%) | 10 (7.3%) |
| Asia | 2 (1.9%) | 3 (2.2%) |
| New Zealand | 1 (1.0%) | 2 (1.5%) |
| Language spoken at home (primary) | ||
| English | 102 (98.0%) | 130 (96.3%) |
| Italian | 1 (1.0%) | 2 (1.5%) |
| Mandarin | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.7%) |
| Greek | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.7%) |
| Other | 1 (1.0%) | 3 (2.2%) |
| Employment status pre-admission | ||
| Retired | 52 (50.0%) | 76 (55.5%) |
| Full time | 24 (23.1%) | 28 (20.4%) |
| Part time/casual | 16 (15.4%) | 25 (18.2%) |
| Unemployed | 7 (6.7%) | 3 (2.2%) |
| Other | 5 (4.8%) | 5 (3.6%) |
| Recruitment method | ||
| Pre-admission clinic | 79 (76%) | 113 (82.5%) |
| Mail-out | 25 (24%) | 24 (17.5%) |
There were no significant between-group differences in the characteristics at baseline. Age was compared using the t-test; other variables compared using the χ2 test of association.