iPOPP - Increasing Physical activity in Older People with chronic Pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Increasing physical activity in older people with chronic musculoskeletal pain: A brief and simple intervention to promote walking
IRAS ID
186326
Contact name
John McBeth
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Keele University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
This pilot trial will test whether a brief and simple intervention to promote walking can be delivered by Health Care Assistants (HCAs) and is acceptable to patients suffering with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Previous research has shown that chronic pain is very common in people aged 65 years and over. Pain usually occurs at more than one place on the body. The more pain a person has, the less likely they are to be physically active. Walking has been shown to be an acceptable form of physical activity for people aged 65 years and over. We want to investigate whether or not a brief walking intervention can help increase physical activity.
This study will allocate 150 patients (by chance) to one of 3 treatment arms below:
1. control group – participants receive usual care from their GP supported by an information booklet about managing chronic pain
2. pedometer group – participants receive a small monitor which counts the number of steps they take (known as a pedometer), a pedometer user guide, a walking diary (to write down how many steps they have taken each day), and the pain information booklet, along with the usual care from their GP
3. iPOPP intervention group – participants receive 2 appointments with a trained HCA plus 8 weekly motivational messages to encourage them to maintain their walking plan, in addition to the usual care they receive from their GP, a pedometer, a pedometer user guide, walking diary and pain information booklet.These groups will be compared to see which intervention might be helpful in increasing or maintaining activity levels. Some people taking part in the study in the pedometer and iPOPP intervention groups will be asked about their experience and the level of support they received. HCAs will also be asked about their experience of delivering the intervention.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0329
Date of REC Opinion
8 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion