Healthy Living Programme for Older Adults

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Malnutrition, risk of falls and medication incidents are commonly faced by the older adults. This study aimed to provide health education to community-dwelling older adults and to assess the effectiveness of a Healthy Living Program (HLP) to older adults in terms of fall prevention, drug management and healthy eating habits.

Detailed Description
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This was a single group pre-post trial. Participants aged 60 or above were recruited from the community elderly centres. A 6-week HLP, which included one 45 minutes weekly session, was offered to the participants. 122 participants were recruited. This study shows that the 6-week HLP has a potential to improve the physical well-being of the participants, and to increase their knowledge in diet, drug management and fall prevention.

Official Title
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Healthy Living Programme (HLP): Diet, Drug and Fall Prevention for Community-dwelling Frail Older Adults

Conditions
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Frail Older Adults

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Healthy Living Programme


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: able to communicate and understand Cantonese > 1 in frailty score members of the Pentecostal Church of Hong Kong Exclusion Criteria: nil

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Healthy Living Programme<br>6 weeks program, with 45 minutes weekly session over 6 weeks.Week 1 & 2 focused on healthy eating habits including food pyramid, balanced diet for the elderly, food labels, healthy snacks and healthy eating out. Week 3 & 4 were about fall prevention, which included risk factors and complications of fall among older adults, preventive measures, strengthening exercises and aerobic dance. Week 5 & 6 focused on drug management, such as knowledge on commonly used drugs, drug storage, use of analgesics and non-pharmacological pain relief strategies. | Behavioral: Healthy Living Programme<br>* A 6-week Healthy Living Program (HLP) was developed and implemented for all the participants. There was one 45 minutes weekly session over 6 week. Week 1 & 2 focused on healthy eating habits including food pyramid, balanced diet for the elderly, food labels, healthy snacks and healthy eating out. Week 3 & 4 were about fall prevention, which included risk factors and complications of fall among older adults, preventive measures, strengthening exercises and aerobic dance. Week 5 & 6 focused on drug management, such as knowledge on commonly used drugs, drug storage, use of analgesics and non-pharmacological pain relief strategies. Interactive activities such as games, puzzles and question & answer session were included in the group education.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in subjective happiness level | Measured by Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), which consisted of 4 statements answered on a 7-point Likert scale. Scores for each statement range from 1 to 7 and the scores from the four statements were added, thus the possible range of scores on the SHS is 4 to 28. Higher scores reflect higher levels of subjective happiness. | Baseline, Week 6 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in frailty status | Measured by the FRAIL scale, which includes five items: fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illness, and loss of weight. The FRAIL scale ranges from 0-5, with a score of 0 regards as normal, 1-2 as pre-frail and 3-5 as frail. | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in pain intensity | Measured using the numerical rating scale, to assess the presence and intensity of pain among participants, which was presented with 0 referring to no pain and 10 referring to the worst pain imaginable | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in Generalized pain self-efficacy beliefs | Measured by the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. It consists of 10 statements, and participants were asked to rate their confidence in performing 10 activities or tasks despite experiencing pain, on a 7-point scale. | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in functional mobility | Measured by Timed Up and Go Test. The participants were required to walk a distance of three meters, turn, walk back to the chair and sit down. | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in hand grip strength | Measured using a dynamometer. Participants were seated with arms by the trunk, the elbow flexed to 90 and in a neutral position, and the wrist in slight extension. Participants were told to squeeze the dynamometer as hard as they could | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in knowledge in healthy eating habits | Measured by self-developed questionnaire. Range of score is 0-12, with higher score indicates having more knowledge. | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in knowledge in drug management | Measured by self-developed questionnaire. Range of score is 0-10, with higher score indicates having more knowledge. | Baseline, Week 6 | 
| Change in knowledge in fall prevention | Measured by self-developed questionnaire. Range of score is 0-5, with higher score indicates having more knowledge. | Baseline, Week 6 |