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JFSF Vol 5, No 1, March 2020, p.10-16

doi: 10.22540/JFSF-05-010

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Research Protocol

Enhancing existing formal home care to improve and maintain functional status in older adults: Protocol for a feasibility study on the implementation of the Care to Move (CTM) programme in an Irish healthcare setting

N. Frances Horgan1, Vanda Cummins1,2, Frank Doyle3, Maria O’Sullivan4, Rose Galvin5, Elissa Burton6, Jan Sorensen7, Dawn A. Skelton8,9, Bex Townley9, Debbie Rooney10, Gill Jackson10, Lauren Swan4, Austin Warters11

  1. School of Physiotherapy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Ireland
  2. Primary Care Physiotherapy Services CHO9, Health Service Executive (HSE)
  3. Division of Population Health Sciences (Psychology), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Ireland
  4. Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Ireland
  5. School of Allied Health, University of Limerick (UL), Ireland
  6. School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Australia
  7. Health Outcomes Research Centre (HORC), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Ireland
  8. School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom
  9. Later Life Training, United Kingdom
  10. North Dublin Home Care (NDHC), Ireland
  11. Older Person Services CHO9, Health Service Executive (HSE), Ireland

Keywords: Community-dwelling, Feasibility, Home care, Older person, Physical activity-based

Abstract

An increasing ageing population leads to greater demand for care services to help maintain people in their own homes. Physical activity programmes have been shown to improve older adults’ functional capacity, enabling the older adult to live independently and maintain functional status. There has been a lack of quality research conducted around physical activity within the landscape of home care services. We describe a feasibility study of implementing the Care to Move (CTM) programme in older adults receiving low-level home care. A Phase 1 mixed-methods feasibility study design will explore the recruitment, attrition, retention, costs to deliver and data loss. It will also explore the acceptability and impact of the CTM programme on older adults and thematic analysis of data collected from older people, home care workers and relevant stakeholders through use of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. We will measure functional status and fall outcomes in older adults receiving low levels of home care, facilitating this population to continue living independently at home and providing data currently not known around this group.