Preventive home visits and health – experiences among very old people

Kharicha

et al. 2017

Health Technol Assess

Background Mild frailty or pre-frailty is common and yet is potentially reversible. Preventing progression to worsening frailty may benefit individuals and lower health/social care costs. However, we know little about effective approaches to preventing frailty progression. Objectives (1) To develop an evidence- and theory-based home-based health promotion intervention for older people with mild frailty. (2) To assess feasibility, costs and acceptability of (i) the intervention and (ii) a full-scale clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness randomised controlled trial (RCT). Design Evidence reviews, qualitative studies, intervention development and a feasibility RCT with process evaluation. Intervention development Two systematic reviews (including systematic searches of 14 databases and registries, 1990–2016 and 1980–2014), a state-of-the-art review (from inception to 2015) and policy review identified effective components for our intervention. We collected data on health priorities and potential intervention components from semistructured interviews and focus groups with older people (aged 65–94 years) (n = 44), carers (n = 12) and health/social care professionals (n = 27). These data, and our evidence reviews, fed into development of the ‘HomeHealth’ intervention in collaboration with older people and multidisciplinary stakeholders. ‘HomeHealth’ comprised 3–6 sessions with a support worker trained in behaviour change techniques, communication skills, exercise, nutrition and mood. Participants addressed self-directed independence and well-being goals, supported through education, skills training, enabling individuals to overcome barriers, providing feedback, maximising motivation and promoting habit formation. Feasibility RCT Single-blind RCT, individually randomised to ‘HomeHealth’ or treatment as usual (TAU). Setting Community settings in London and Hertfordshire, UK. Participants A total of 51 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 65 years with mild frailty. Main outcome measures Feasibility – recruitment, retention, acceptability and intervention costs. Clinical and health economic outcome data at 6 months included functioning, frailty status, well-being, psychological distress, quality of life, capability and NHS and societal service utilisation/costs. Results We successfully recruited to target, with good 6-month retention (94%). Trial procedures were acceptable with minimal missing data. Individual randomisation was feasible. The intervention was acceptable, with good fidelity and modest delivery costs (£307 per patient). A total of 96% of participants identified at least one goal, which were mostly exercise related (73%). We found significantly better functioning (Barthel Index +1.68; p = 0.004), better grip strength (+6.48 kg; p = 0.02), reduced psychological distress (12-item General Health Questionnaire –3.92; p = 0.01) and increased capability-adjusted life-years [+0.017; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.001 to 0.031] at 6 months in the intervention arm than the TAU arm, with no differences in other outcomes. NHS and carer support costs were variable but, overall, were lower in the intervention arm than the TAU arm. The main limitation was difficulty maintaining outcome assessor blinding. Conclusions Evidence is lacking to inform frailty prevention service design, with no large-scale trials of multidomain interventions. From stakeholder/public perspectives, new frailty prevention services should be personalised and encompass multiple domains, particularly socialising and mobility, and can be delivered by trained non-specialists. Our multicomponent health promotion intervention was acceptable and delivered at modest cost. Our small study shows promise for improving clinical outcomes, including functioning and independence. A full-scale individually RCT is feasible. Future work A large, definitive RCT of the HomeHealth service is warranted. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014010370 and Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN11986672. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 21, No. 73. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home-based health promotion for older people with mild frailty: the HomeHealth intervention development and feasibility RCT

Walters

Kharicha

et al. 2017

Health Technol Assess

“…Similarly, the importance of taking an interest in the older person was highlighted in a Swedish qualitative study about experiences of pre‐frail very old people who received preventive home visits to identify unmet needs and provide local service information (Dahlin‐Ivanoff et al, ). Interestingly, that study reported some people thought that such interventions were not for them because they were too ill or felt too old with nothing to anticipate (Behm, Ivanoff, & Zidén, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health promotion for mild frailty based on behaviour change: Perceptions of older people and service providers

Avgerinou

Gardner

Health Soc Care Community

et al. 2019

Mild frailty is common among older people, but it is potentially reversible with health promotion interventions. Behaviour change may be a key to preventing progression of frailty; however, we know little about what interventions work best and how a behaviour change approach would be perceived by this group. The aim of this study was to explore how mildly frail older people perceive health promotion based on behaviour change and what factors affect engagement with this approach. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 16 older people with mild frailty who received a pilot home‐based behaviour change health promotion service, including a dyad of older person/family carer, and two service providers delivering the service in two diverse areas of South England. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The concept of goal setting was acceptable to most participants, though the process of goal setting needed time and consideration. Goals on maintaining independence, monitoring of progress and receiving feedback were reported to increase motivation. Physical/mental capability and knowledge/perception of own needs were main determinants of the type of goals chosen by participants as well as the approach used by the project workers. Older people with complex needs benefited from care coordination, with a combination of goal setting and elements of social, practical and emotional support in varying proportions. Mildly frail older people responded well to a behaviour change approach to promote health and well‐being. Further consideration is needed of the most effective strategies based on complexity of needs, and how to overcome barriers among people with cognitive impairment.

“…Previous qualitative studies of experiences of preventative home visit (health promotion) services for people aged 80+ or with long‐term conditions suggest that they are valued for providing an accessible contact and psychosocial support through good communication skills (Behm, Ivanoff, & Zidén, ; Williams, Smith, Chapman, & Oliver, ). This aligns with our findings, which further suggest that health promotion services are more likely to be acceptable if delivered by a non‐specialist support worker rather than a clinician.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying acceptable components for home-based health promotion services for older people with mild frailty: A qualitative study

Health Soc Care Community

Jovicić

Liljas

et al. 2017

Mild frailty is common in later life, increasing the risk of hospitalisation, loss of independence and premature death. Targeted health promotion services may reduce adverse outcomes and increase quality of life; however, effective, well-developed theory-based interventions are lacking. We aimed to explore perceptions of health promotion behaviours undertaken by older people with mild frailty, barriers and facilitators to engagement, and identify potential components for new home-based health promotion services. We carried out 17 semi-structured qualitative interviews and six focus groups with 53 stakeholders, including 14 mildly frail older people, 12 family carers, 19 community health and social care professionals, and 8 homecare workers, in one urban and one semi-rural area of England. Transcripts were thematically analysed.Older people with mild frailty reported engaging in a variety of lifestyle behaviours to promote health and well-being. Key barriers or facilitators to engaging in these included transport, knowledge of local services, social support and acceptance of personal limitations. Older people, carers and professionals agreed that any new service should address social networks and mobility and tailor other content to each individual. Services should aim to increase motivation through focussing on independence and facilitate older people to continue carrying out behaviours that improve their wellbeing, as well as provide information, motivation, psychological support and practical support. Stakeholders agreed services should be delivered over a sustained period by trained non-specialist workers. New services including these components are likely to be acceptable to older people with mild frailty. K E Y W O R D Shealth behaviours, health promotion, older people, older people's services, qualitative researchThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.