ACE baseline dataset (CSV) for the publication ‘The Tribulations of Trials Continue: Recruiting 528 Older Adults into the Active, Connected, Engaged (ACE) Randomised Controlled Trial of a Peer volunteer-led intervention Targeting Mobility-Disability’

This dataset supports the manuscript titled ‘The Tribulations of Trials Continue: Recruiting 528 Older Adults into the Active, Connected, Engaged (ACE) Randomised Controlled Trial of a Peer volunteer-led intervention Targeting Mobility-Disability’This paper describes recruitment for the Active Connected Engaged (ACE) study, known as ACTIF in Wales, a multi-centre, pragmatic, two-arm RCT involving older adults (65+) at high risk of mobility disability. The trial evaluated a 6-month peer-led active aging intervention targeting lower limb mobility. ACE aimed to recruit 515 adults aged 65+ scoring 4–9 on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Recruitment methods included GP-mailed invitations and outreach via third-sector organisations. Response rates, sample representativeness, recruitment efficiency, and costs were calculated. The study enrolled 528 participants (34.9% male; mean SPPB = 7.09), of whom 94.9% self-identified as White. Participants were relatively evenly distributed across quintiles of combined English and Welsh income and employment indices. Additionally, 227 peer volunteers (41.4% male; 93% White) provided baseline data.The dataset includes age, sex, ethnicity, education, residence, marital status, household occupancy and working status. The ACE study was conducted at four sites (Stoke-on-Trent, Greater Manchester, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, and Bristol) in the UK. Full details of the trial design are published elsewhere.The trial protocol can be found here: Stathi, A. et al., 2023. A peer-volunteer led active ageing programme to prevent decline in physical function in older people at risk of mobility disability (Active, Connected, Engaged [ACE]): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 24 (1) 772. (10.1186/s13063-023-07758-3)