If older adults could keep active, they are more likely to age well. Older adults are not moving enough and we haven't been successful in encourage them to move more long term. We want to test to see whether the NHS Active 10 walking app can address this problem.
Background
Older adults are not moving enough, leading to many problems common in older age. Current programs to get older adults moving more do not work long-term. Mobile apps could provide a cheaper alternative that works long-term, and might reach more people than current programs. The NHS runs an app to encourage walking (Active 10) but it is not used in GP clinics and has not been tested to see if it works.
Project Aims
To see if it is possible to run a large study testing if the NHS Active 10 app can help older adults move more and age well.
Project Activity
Before running a large study to see if Active 10 works, we need to run a small study to check that a bigger study will run smoothly. I will ask 80 older adults who do not move enough to join the study at their NHS health-check. Half of the adults will be given the Active 10 app for three months. The other half will not be given anything. I will check that each step of the study can be completed (for example, ensuring that we get enough people to join). If adults have problems with any part of the study I will propose changes.
Anticipated or actual outputs
If we can complete all the steps in the small study okay, we can run the large study to see if Active 10 works. If the large study shows Active 10 works, it could help older adults move more and age well.
Papers and resources
Who is involved?
- Dr Dharani Yerrakalva (PI), University of Cambridge
- Professor Simon Griffin (co-PI), University of Cambridge
- Professor Robbie Duschinsky (co-PI), University of Cambridge
- Dr Soren Brage, UCL as collaborators, Department of Health & Social Care
Contact
Dr Dharani Yerrakalva, dy255@cam.ac.uk
