Home based health promotion for vulnerable older people
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Home based health promotion for vulnerable older people
IRAS ID
157504
Contact name
Kate Walters
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2014/07/38, Data Protection registration
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Meeting the needs of the growing number of older people with complex problems remains a challenge to the NHS and social care. Health promotion (actions that can be taken by older people to improve health) has the potential to make a difference, and is a government priority. This study aims to develop and test a home-based health promotion intervention for older people with early frailty, whilst also assessing feasibility and affordability for the NHS.
Firstly, we will review what is already known both about what helps and hinders older people to take part in health promotion, and the effectiveness of existing approaches for early frailty. We will also speak to older people with early frailty, carers, home care workers, and community health professionals. This will identify what has worked previously, and what might limit efforts to promote health within the home. Two ‘stakeholder panels’ of older people, carers and experts/professionals will be formed to bring the evidence together and develop a new approach for home-based health promotion that captures the priorities and preferences of older people. A manual for professionals delivering the intervention will be developed.
The new intervention will be tested with older people recruited through General Practices in London and Hertfordshire. Half the participants will be randomly selected to receive the intervention alongside their usual care, and half will continue to receive usual care alone. The new intervention will be tailored to the older person and delivered by a health professional at their home. We will follow up all participants after 3 and 6 months to find out if the intervention is effective and acceptable to them. We will collect information that will help us design a larger study to test if the cost to deliver this new approach is outweighed by the benefits, compared to current practice.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1698
Date of REC Opinion
3 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion