'Tell me how' study - Top agEweLL MEthods for HOusebound Wellness
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Ageing well: developing a conceptual model of core ‘ageing well’ interventions to be promoted by community healthcare professionals during community home visits.
IRAS ID
327049
Contact name
Donna Thomas
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of The West of England
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 4 days
Research summary
Why: People tend not to age well. Ageing is a process of diminishing function, rather than growth. However, the condition of our body in areas including our muscle strength, bone health, neuron activity will contribute to a hastened or delayed decline. There is an opportunity for staff involved in patient care to deliver interventions to support people to age well. Interventions might focus on diet and nutrition, exercise, brain function, mood, purpose for example. However, there is limited evidence on existing interventions that are able to be accessed by people who are unable to leave their home environment and who are classed as housebound.
What: The aims of this study are:
-To find out what housebound people think about whether they are ageing well and how that is lived or the difficulties with this.
-To discover from community healthcare clinicians what they think is the healthcare professional role in providing interventions to promote health to a housebound population.
-To discover from an expert panel what the interventions to promote health in the housebound and most frail population should be.
-Who: Early engagement with patient and public groups to outline this proposed research study has had an overwhelmingly positive reaction. Members are very keen to be involved in planned focus group sessions. Patients and the public dislike use of labelling terms such as frailty (AgeUK, 2020.). However, frailty terms are routinely used by clinicians to measure outcomes and decide treatment options. Through data gained from community staff and experts, the research will discern when and if the focus should be on advancing age and ability rather than advancing frailty and disability or if the two are inextricably linked.
Where: Research will be conducted in a community NHS site, online and with access to patient and public groups.
How: This research study forms a PhD three-year timeframe.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/WM/0116
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion