Measuring change in physical activity levels in care homes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of outcome assessment tools in care homes in the context of a service improvement initiative to reduce sedentary behaviour and improve physical activity
IRAS ID
161715
Contact name
Anne Forster
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research has identified that the majority of care home residents spend their time inactive and sedentary, which has a detrimental effect on their health and wellbeing. Our long-term aim is to develop an intervention which enhances physical activity by optimising routine activities in care homes and to undertake a trial evaluation of that intervention. Separate ethics approval will be sought for the trial.
We have convened a reference group consisting of care home staff, a physiotherapist, residents and lay members. This group has met on a regular basis and has considered changes which need to happen to decrease sedentary behaviour and integrate physical activity (increased movement) within care home culture, systems and daily routines and what is feasible in the care home setting. From this we have developed a prototype for how an intervention might be delivered and a preliminary outline of issues which should be addressed. We now plan to observe a service improvement process which will be developed by a group of staff, residents and their family/friends within the homes which will meet regularly and provide a basis to practically test a few simple ideas to reduce physical inactivity and promote movement within the daily routines of care homes. These ideas and suggestions - which we are calling 'the intervention' - will be developed in practice and made suitable for use in different types of care homes amongst residents with diverse needs.
As the action groups are being convened, we will invite residents to assist us with pre- and post- evaluation of the intervention. We will ask residents to wear accelerometers (which measure physical activity) during the day time for a period of upto 7-10 days. These residents will be asked to answer questions in relation to their health and wellbeing (with staff/researcher assistance if required).
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/1169
Date of REC Opinion
3 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion