Research Centre
Art and Design Research Centre

Date
2011

This research seeks to determine the benefit of an occupational therapy based intervention for community living people aged 65 years or older

Healthy, active ageing is strongly associated with good mental well-being which in turn helps to prevent mental illness. However more investment has been made into research into interventions to prevent mental illness than into those designed to improve mental well-being. This applied research programme will provide high quality evidence for an intervention designed to improve and sustain mental well-being in older adults.

Lifestyle Matters is an occupational approach to healthy ageing. Lifestyle Matters (Craig and Mountain) is an occupation-based intervention which seeks to promote the mental and physical well-being of older people. Building on the work undertaken by Craig and Mountain the efficacy of the intervention is currently being explored within a Randomised Controlled Trial.

This study, led by Gail Mountain is a multi-centre, pragmatic two arm parallel group individually randomised controlled trial to determine of the population benefit of the intervention. Participants (n=268) have been identified in one city in the North of England and in North Wales through GP mail outs, signposting by local authority, primary care staff and voluntary sector organisations and through community engagement. Participants were then randomised to one of two treatment arms: an intervention (lifestyle matters) or control (routine access to health and social care).

The primary outcome which is a person reported outcome is the SF36 mental health dimension at six months post-randomisation. Secondary outcome measures have been selected to measure psychosocial, physical and mental health outcomes. They include other dimensions of the SF36, EQ-5D-3L, Brief resilience scale, central perceived self-efficacy scale, PHQ-9, de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Health and Social Care Resource Use and the wellbeing question of the integrated Household survey 2011. A cost effectiveness analysis will investigate the incremental cost per Quality of Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) of the Lifestyle Matters intervention compared with treatment as usual.

Researchers involved

Dr Claire Craig  - Member of Lab4Living, Senior Lecturer Occupational Therapy

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