Evaluating the Lifecurve approach and app for rehabilitation and healthy living in later life
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Biomedical Engineering
Abstract
As we get older we tend to assume that we will get more and more dependent on others leading us to need care and support at home and ultimately may need to enter a care home. However research has shown that if we take suitable preventative actions from around the age of 55 we need not lose the ability to carry out functional activities of daily life such as walking, shopping, cooking a meal or transferring to a toilet. It is possible therefore, if we take this preventative activity and exercise from an early enough age and consistently enough, that the vast majority of us can stay independent at home until the last few months of life. This we call compression of functional decline in that the decline we suffer occurs at the very end of life. This is the life journey that most of us want. We can track your physical life journey (your Lifecurve) through your ability to undertake 19 activities of daily life (your Lifecurve score) over time.
We have developed in partnership with Health and Social care colleagues and a spin out university company an App which you can use on a smart phone or tablet to record your Lifecurve Score and which will tell you the kinds of activities and exercises that evidence shows will maintain your physical independence. It will show you stories from others who have successfully remained independent. It will let you set tasks to do for yourself and will monitor if you do these tasks. It will allow you to compare yourself with others of your age and gender. It will also record your scores over time and show them to you. Your data and tasks choices and activities will be recorded by the app anonymously and we can use this data to see what you do that is helpful and if using the app helps slow or arrest your functional decline.
We plan to roll this app out across Scotland as part of this research study. The app users will help make the app as user friendly as it can be, to improved the content of the App. The research level data from the use of the app will provide initial research data on the effectiveness of the app and Lifecurve approach on promoting independence in later life. The data will also allow us to plan a full scale Randomised Controlled Trial (the gold standard for health research) to determine the effectiveness of the approach in the future. We will also be able to nudge you to curtain activities as they become available or evidence for them develops and to send you surveys to fill in electronically.
If successful the Lifecurve app and approach could have considerable effect on healthy ageing, leading to longer and more independent lives and reducing the burden on health and social care services. The launch of the APP has been delayed for 3 months due to the COVID pandemic because some of the activities it encouraged were group activities, required non essential travel or could not be conducted with social distancing in place. We and the company are now happy that the modified APP and the activities it contains are COVID compliant. The COVID pandemic has severely limited older adults ability to socialise outside the home and our levels of daily activity. If this continues it posses an increasing threat to functional independence in later life. It is therefore even more important in the post COVID world that we offer advice and support to older adults as to how to maintain their functional independence and stay active at home.
We have setup the roll out of the app, a project support website (https://stillgoingproject.co.uk/) and the research evaluation methodology and we are now seeking funding with this application to undertake an evaluation of the success or otherwise of the app and the Lifecurve approach.
We have developed in partnership with Health and Social care colleagues and a spin out university company an App which you can use on a smart phone or tablet to record your Lifecurve Score and which will tell you the kinds of activities and exercises that evidence shows will maintain your physical independence. It will show you stories from others who have successfully remained independent. It will let you set tasks to do for yourself and will monitor if you do these tasks. It will allow you to compare yourself with others of your age and gender. It will also record your scores over time and show them to you. Your data and tasks choices and activities will be recorded by the app anonymously and we can use this data to see what you do that is helpful and if using the app helps slow or arrest your functional decline.
We plan to roll this app out across Scotland as part of this research study. The app users will help make the app as user friendly as it can be, to improved the content of the App. The research level data from the use of the app will provide initial research data on the effectiveness of the app and Lifecurve approach on promoting independence in later life. The data will also allow us to plan a full scale Randomised Controlled Trial (the gold standard for health research) to determine the effectiveness of the approach in the future. We will also be able to nudge you to curtain activities as they become available or evidence for them develops and to send you surveys to fill in electronically.
If successful the Lifecurve app and approach could have considerable effect on healthy ageing, leading to longer and more independent lives and reducing the burden on health and social care services. The launch of the APP has been delayed for 3 months due to the COVID pandemic because some of the activities it encouraged were group activities, required non essential travel or could not be conducted with social distancing in place. We and the company are now happy that the modified APP and the activities it contains are COVID compliant. The COVID pandemic has severely limited older adults ability to socialise outside the home and our levels of daily activity. If this continues it posses an increasing threat to functional independence in later life. It is therefore even more important in the post COVID world that we offer advice and support to older adults as to how to maintain their functional independence and stay active at home.
We have setup the roll out of the app, a project support website (https://stillgoingproject.co.uk/) and the research evaluation methodology and we are now seeking funding with this application to undertake an evaluation of the success or otherwise of the app and the Lifecurve approach.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Philip Rowe (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Description | Due to Covid our original approach of having Health and Social care services work with users to introduce the LIFECURVE app and concept and then allow them to use it to produce a more positive future Lifecurve proved impossible. In this project we therefore undertook to see if by a series of dissemination activities we could prompt the general public to adopt the app and use it and in this way make its use become ubiquitous. We set out to recruit 1000 subjects and have achieve 770. This under recruitment of users was despite considerable and extensive effort. Our conclusion is that without being linked to a health or social service and without being advocated by individuals within that service the Lifecurve app is unlikely to be adopted by the public. |
Exploitation Route | We plan to write a series of papers on our experience and encourage services to adopt the app |
Sectors | Healthcare |
URL | https://stillgoingproject.co.uk |
Description | Our findings have helped inform NHS and Social Care Staff about how best to implement the positive health benefits of the lifecurve approach They have helped 10 partner services develop their programs They have brought the Lifecurve Approach and Lifecurve App to the attention of users in Scotland They have informed ADL smartcare as to how to further develop the app and how to improve it for version 2 about to be realeased |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
Description | Article on BBC Scotland TV called Lockdown may have led to loss of strength and mobility |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | we participated in an article called Lockdown may have led to loss of strength and mobility which was based on the work in this project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57393714 |
Description | Interview with national news on radio |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The still going project and Lifecurve and our partnership with age Scotland was highlighted on BBC Scotland Radio on the Good morning Scotland program from 6 to 9 am and is now on their website There was an extended piece with us at about 6.45 and then an interview with me and Alex from age Scotland at 7.35 am The focus of the interview was about recovery from covid and adopting activities to have a health later life |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57393714 |