None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
We propose to use a preventive approach to health problems by providing a holistic program that allows older adults to independently improve their own health. Adults aged 50 years and over need accessible and easy opportunities to reduce their reliance on the health system and to actively engage in their own healthy ageing. This can improve their ability to prevent functional decline normally associated with ageing and chronic disease. Community hubs are neighbourhood organisations that could be a means of hosting preventive holistic health programs, while concurrently improving social connections. They could be used as a means of delivering programs that improve older adults’ ability to manage after hospitalisation, however community hubs at present are not utilised for these types of programs. Our team recently designed a community-hub based wellness program that consisted of an exercise program and wellness activities to address healthy ageing during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was overwhelming support for the program from participating community-hub members, with promising changes in health and wellness. We are now ready to upscale to a pilot randomised trial to determine the feasibility of this type of program for delivery for people aged 50 years and over experiencing chronic disease recently discharged from hospital. This is a pilot randomised controlled trial to identify if the wellness program (CONNECT 50+) is helpful to people who have ongoing health problems, and who have recently come home from hospital. Some people will belong to the group that completes CONNECT 50+ and monitors their daily physical activity using a smartwatch (intervention group), while another group will only monitor their physical activity using a smartwatch (control group). We will collect information about both group’s physical ability and their satisfaction with their life at the beginning and at the end of the 12-week program. The research officer will be blinded during data collection at baseline and 12-week follow-up. The research will help us understand what the benefits of the wellness program are, what worked well and how this could be helpful for a future larger study.
Interventions
CONNECT 50+ is a pragmatic exercise and wellness program delivered from Connect Victoria Park Community Hub, and consists of:
a. Evidenced-based strength and balance exercise in groups of up to 15 people supervised by a trained personal trainer one hour, twice per week for 12 weeks. Examples of strength and balance exercises are sit-to-stand repetitions for 15 seconds, 1/4 squats and lunges, timed unsupported standing with feet apart then together then on foam, with and without upper limb suppor
CONNECT 50+ is a pragmatic exercise and wellness program delivered from Connect Victoria Park Community Hub, and consists of: a. Evidenced-based strength and balance exercise in groups of up to 15 people supervised by a trained personal trainer one hour, twice per week for 12 weeks. Examples of strength and balance exercises are sit-to-stand repetitions for 15 seconds, 1/4 squats and lunges, timed unsupported standing with feet apart then together then on foam, with and without upper limb support. The intensity will be low-moderate, assessed using BORG RPE scale. Attendance will be monitored weekly using session attendance lists. b. Completion of a weekly wellness activity that the participant chooses from a schedule that draw on local hub events (such as dancing, singing, meditation, book club, bush-walking), content encompasses domains of wellness to address participants’ interests. This will be planned prior to commencement of the 12-week program and monitored weekly using session attendance lists. c. Workbook designed for the study that includes information about self-management of health, principles and benefits of healthy ageing and wellness, and cues to action. Participants will be guided through the workbook prior to commencement of the program for approximately 1-hour, including explanation of scheduled events that represent domains of wellness (physical, social, intellectual, vocational, spiritual, emotional, environmental), then supported to plan a weekly timetable of wellness activities tailored to their interests that they would complete over the 12-weeks. d. Participants will be asked to wear a study-supplied smartwatch that logs their physical via the accompanying app activity monitor app via a website or a smartphone app (android and iOS compatible). The app will collect data over a period of 12 weeks, and monitored weekly by a research officer who will contact participants and support them to use the smartwatch consistently to gather weekly step-count data.
Sponsors
The University of Western Australia
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
50 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
- Aged 50 years or over, medical hospital admission >3 days within the past 3 months; able to ambulate with or without an aid - Provide written informed consent - Presence of at least one chronic health condition confirmed by a GP at the time of recruitment.
Exclusion criteria
Impaired cognitive capacity (score less than 7/10 using Abbreviated Mental Test Score); limited English language proficiency to be able to understand instructions and provide consent i.e. if participants are unable to fully understand the aims and requirements of the study they will not be enrolled.
Outcome results
None listed