Health promotion and retirement living

Transcription

1 Health promotion and retirement living Sandra C Jones, Director CHI And the team: Dr Keryn Johnson, Prof Don Iverson, Dr Andrew Bonney, Dr Lyn Phillipson, Ms Laura Robinson

2 Ageing As people age they are faced with multiple losses: Health Independence Roles Family & Friends Health promotion activity can: Improve Quality Of Life (QOL) Decrease Disease

3 Health of the Ageing Population The number of Australians over the age of 65 is expected to double by 2021 Increasing evidence that adoption of healthy lifestyles can have significant benefits even in older age Many older Australians suffer from one or more chronic disease Results in increased morbidity & mortality, lowe r quality of life & higher need for health care

4 CHI s partnership with IRT and IHMRI To investigate environment and social factors within the residential community affecting residents health behaviours and To promote a healthy community through village health seminars

5 Study Design Literature review Focus groups HRA + assessment of health status Healthy lifestyle intervention Evaluation

6 Results of the Focus Groups Health as an important asset for residents health to me is being able to live the life I want to live (Focus group 3) you have to have good health, to have quality of life (Focus group 1) Social support is an important aspect of health mostly to be healthy you need to mix with some people, be in some sort of group (Focus group 1) a peer group of support people is very important (Focus group 2)

7 Aware of personal responsibility for own health The older you get the more you ve got to look after yourself (focus group 4)... sitting around and letting somebody else wait on you is not really a good idea as you re getting older (focus group 3) See the IRT village as an enabler of health the monthly meetings sort of gets us together too... fellowship is the word (focus group 3) we ve got back up from the family but also the organisation is probably equally as important (focus group 2)

8 Results of the Health Survey Residents had above average functional health in 7/8 health categories Higher scores for females (except for energy/fatigue) Increased QOL = Increased physcial function & increased general health

9 Quality of Life Quality of life scores were very high Very Good QOL 40% Figure 3: Quality of Life Categories Adequate QOL 16% Increased QOL = decreased cholesterol & anxiety/stress Acceptable QOL 44% No individuals received a negative score

10 Phase 2: The Intervention Using the information collected in phase 1 of the project, a health intervention was conducted Individual health profile Tailored health pack Village health seminars

11 Three self care communities in the Illawarra Tarrawanna Gardens Experimental design: Tailored educational program based on individual health risks Generic information/education program N=226 Towradgi Park William Beach Gardens

12 HRA to assess current health status All residents provided with feedback about their HRA results and priority areas for action Residents then prioritised one area of action and set a goal for the 3 month intervention period Intervention group: Individual Health Packs (tailored to HRA results) Comparison group: Generic brochures

13 Message Development: Health Packs Individualised resident health packs Provide evidence based health information specific to their health risk profile (determined by HRA)

14 Message Development: Health Brochures Hypertension Diet Physical activity Sun protection Stress and anxiety Screening & preventative health behaviours Reducing the risk of dementia 7 priority areas

15 Quantitative Results Health Risk Assessments returned HRAs for analysis Brochures 88.9% 49% were in the intervention group easy to understand and helped them realise how their lifestyle impacted on their health helped them to understand how they could improve their health 75%

16 Qualitative Results Residents found the information informative and motivating Desire for discussions with a health professional Excellent concept, would be much better served by personal interview it pointed out my short comings and motivated me to improve on these issues

17 Support for (Personalised) Health Packs Both methods of assessment (quant and qual) supported individualised health packs as a means of providing health behaviour changes Residents who received the tailored Individual health packs reported significant improvements pre and post intervention behaviours related to: Dairy consumption Memory Colon Screening Compared to control group No significant improvements in these areas

18 Discussion Value in providing older adults with an assessment of their health risks (HRA) to increase the relevance of social marketing messages promoting health behaviour changes Brochures alone are insufficient but combined with individualised messages they are more effective Providing tailored feedback about specific health risks together with matched health information may influence: Perceived susceptibility Efficacy Cues to action

19 Future Research and Interventions Future social marketing interventions should address desire for health professional consultation Potential for use of technology (for contact with health professionals) Need for research/interventions that connect residents with the local community

20 Acknowledgements IRT Research Foundation Kristy Wandmaker & IRT team IRT resident committees, residents Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI)