Extract

Background and study aims Meeting the needs of the growing number of older people with complex health and social problems remains a challenge to the NHS and social care. As people continue to live longer, it is important to find better ways to support their health and well-being so that they can stay active and independent for as long as possible. It is estimated that around 44% of older people have symptoms of mild frailty. Common difficulties that can be experienced include getting tired more easily, feeling weaker, a loss of appetite, low mood or finding it harder to go outdoors regularly. Having early support with these sorts of difficulties can help to maintain independence for longer. Health promotion is a way of helping people to have more control over their health so that they can improve it. Health promotion programmes aimed at older people have been introduced in the NHS in recent years, as they have the potential to make a real difference. In this study, a home-base health and well-being promotion programme has been designed in order to help promote healthy aging. The aim of this study is to find out whether this programme is feasible an acceptable way of delivering health and well-being promotion to older people in the community. Who can participate? Adults over 65, living at home with symptoms such as feeling like everything is more of a struggle, loss of energy or muscle strength. What does the study involve? Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in the first group take part in a personally tailored health and well-being promotion programme, delivered using a combination of home visits by a HomeHealth worker and telephone calls over a period of 6 months. Those in the second group continue to receive treatment as usual throughout the study. At the start of the study and after 3 and 6 months, participants in both groups will be asked to complete a number of questionnaires designed to assess their general health and mental well-being. At the end of the 6 month study, the possibility of conducting a larger trial is examined by reviewing the number of participants who have taken part in the study and how many participants completed the study. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? Not provided at time of registration Where is the study run from? University College London (UK) When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? November 2014 to March 2016 Who is funding the study? National Institute for Health Research (UK) Who is the main contact? 1. Ms Kalpa Kharicha (public) [email protected] 2. Dr Kate Walters (scientific)

Inclusion criteria

• Topic: Primary Care, Ageing; Subtopic: Ageing, Ageing; Disease: All Diseases, All Ageing

Links

• isrctn
• ictrp