Community intervention to reduce social isolation in older adults in disadvantaged urban areas: study protocol for a mixed methods multi-approach evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of older people has dramatically increased in recent decades. Moreover, social and demographic trends show a global increase of older people at risk of loneliness and lack of social relationships. The objective of this study was to evaluate the process, the effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness of a planned 22 weekly group sessions called School of Health for Older People to reduce social isolation. METHODS: This is a mixed methods multi-approach evaluation that includes: 1) A qualitative evaluation among coordinators and participants taking part in the intervention, through in depth-interviews and focus groups, respectively. The main topics covered will be positive and negative aspects of the intervention, suggestions for its improvement, opinions on different aspects of the intervention, and perceived benefits; 2) A quantitative quasi-experimental design, comparing a group of individuals taking part in the intervention with another group with similar characteristics not receiving the intervention. Data will be collected at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Social support will be measured through questions drawn from the Medical Outcomes Study and the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project questionnaires. Psychological morbidity will be measured through Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire, and Health-related Quality of Life will be measured through the EuroQoL questionnaire. Information on visits to the primary care center in the years before and after the intervention will be obtained from the electronic records of the primary care centers; 3) A cost-utility analysis, which will be conducted from a health system (primary care) perspective, including direct costs of the program and the primary care health services used. The effects of the intervention will be measured on quality-adjusted life years. DISCUSSION: There is an urgent need for studies assessing the effectiveness and the efficiency of potential interventions to reduce social isolation among older persons. The results of this study will help to fill the knowledge gap in this area and might be especially useful for the development of social and public health policies and programs for older people in disadvantaged neighborhoods in urban areas. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03142048 retrospectively registered (April 11, 2017).

The effectiveness of a health promotion with group intervention by clinical trial. Study protocol.

BACKGROUND: The promotion of health and the interventions in community health continue to be one of the pending subjects of our health system. The most prevalent health problems (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes...) are for the most part related to life habits. We propose a holistic and integral approach as the best option for tackling behavior and its determinants. The research team has elaborated the necessary educational material to realize group teaching, which we call "Health Workshops". The goal of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these Health Workshops in the following terms: Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), incorporate and maintain a balanced diet, do physical activity regularly, maintain risk factors such as tension, weight, cholesterol within normal limits and diminish cardiovascular risk. METHODS/DESIGN: Controlled and random clinical testing, comparing a group of persons who have participated in the Health Workshops with a control group of similar characteristics who have not participated in the Health Workshops.Field of study: the research is being done in Health Centers of the city of Barcelona, Spain. POPULATION STUDIED: The group is composed of 108 persons that are actually doing the Health Workshops, and 108 that are not and form the control group. They are assigned at random to one group or the other. DATA ANALYSIS: With Student's t-distribution test to compare the differences between numerical variables or their non parametric equivalent if the variable does not comply with the criteria of normality. (Kolmogorov-Smirnof test). Chi-square test to compare the differences between categorical variables and the Logistic Regression Model to analyze different meaningful variables by dichotomous analysis related to the intervention. DISCUSSION: The Health Workshop proposed in the present study constitutes an innovative approach in health promotion, placing the emphasis on the person's self responsibility for his/her own health.The rhythm of a weekly session during 8 weeks with recommended activities to put into practice, as well as the support of the group is an opportunity to incorporate healthy habits and make a commitment to self-care. The sheets handed out are a Health Manual that can always be consulted after the workshop ends. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT01440738.

Qualitative evaluation of a community-based intervention to reduce social isolation among older people in disadvantaged urban areas of Barcelona.

This study analyses participants' and coordinators' perceptions of the implementation process and perceived benefits of a community-based intervention to reduce social isolation among older adults. The 'School of Health for Older People' is a weekly community intervention that promotes resources among individuals and communities in order to enhance their ability to identify problems and activate solutions, encouraging participation in the community. A qualitative approach was employed, based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups (FGs). This study was carried out in Barcelona. Two coordinators (community nurses) and 26 community-dwelling people aged 65 and over who attended the School of Health for Older People in the neighbourhoods of Besòs and Guineueta, participated in in-depth interviews and FGs between January and February 2016. Views and experiences about the intervention were explored. The main perceived effects of the intervention were expanding knowledge of health issues and of community activities, encouraging participants to go out, giving them a feeling of being heard, and peer relationships, increasing participants' contacts and knowledge while the main negative features were related to repetition of certain contents. The benefits identified included learning something about health and their own neighbourhood and breaking the habit of staying at home. Social isolation might be prevented by increasing the number of contacts with peers and sharing a common interest, since it could help to give them a sense of belonging to a community.

Effectiveness of a comprehensive care protocol in patients with new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes mellitus and associated comorbidities in primary care: study protocol of a quasi-experimental trial.

INTRODUCTION: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a highly prevalent chronic disease in the Spanish population. Typically, T2DM is associated with other chronic conditions. Intensive medication at the time of diagnosis has proven effective in reducing cardiovascular risk, improving glycaemic control and preventing T2DM complications. However, it has not yet been demonstrated that a comprehensive and intensive health education protocol at the time of diagnosis has the benefits described previously. Currently, there is great variability in the practices of primary care nurses regarding health education at the time of disease diagnosis.We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a systematic protocol with a comprehensive care programme in people with newly diagnosed T2DM with associated comorbidities. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A multicentre quasi-experimental design comparing a group of individuals taking part in the intervention (intervention group (IG)) with a similar group receiving standard diabetes care (comparison group (CG)) is planned. The intervention will take place during the 3 months after study enrolment. Data will be collected at baseline and at 3, 6 and 12 months. Ten primary care centres in Barcelona city will be selected for participation: 5 for the IG and 5 for the CG. The IG will include five structured individual visits postdiagnosis with the primary care nurse, during which aspects of diabetes education will be discussed with the patient and his/her family. The results will be measured in terms of health-related quality of life and the change in main outcomes (glycated haemoglobin and weight). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study fully met the requirements of the Ethical Committee of Clinical Investigation of the IDIAP Jordi Gol (approval code: P13/118). Patients will be informed that their data are confidential, and they have the right to withdraw at any time without penalty. Dissemination will include publishing the findings in peer-reviewed journals and sharing our findings at scientific conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03990857; Pre-results.