Research project
The Home-based Older People's Exercise Programme (HOPE)
Description
Objectives and brief methodology
The aim of the study is to evaluate a home-based exercise intervention designed to improve the mobility and functional abilities of frail older people.
The Home-Based Older People’s Exercise (HOPE) trial is a two-arm, assessor blind, pilot randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a 12 week exercise intervention (the HOPE programme) designed to improve the mobility and functional abilities of frail older people living at home, compared with usual care. The primary outcome is the timed-up-and-go test, measured at baseline and 14 weeks post-randomisation.
Secondary outcomes include the Barthel Index of activities of daily living, EuroQol Group 5-Dimension Self-Report Questionnaire (EQ-5D) quality of life measure and the geriatric depression scale, measured at baseline and 14 weeks post-randomisation. We will record baseline frailty using the Edmonton Frail Scale, record falls and test the feasibility of collection of data to identify therapy resources required for delivery of the intervention.
Impact of research
The HOPE trial explored and evaluated a home-based exercise intervention for frail older people. Although previous RCTs have used operationalised, non-validated methods of measuring frailty, the HOPE trial is, to our knowledge, the first RCT of an exercise intervention for frail older people that includes a validated method of frailty assessment at baseline. The findings from the pilot HOPE trial will inform the design and development of a future definitive multi-site RCT and guide the future commissioning of local and national therapy services for frail older people.
Participant criteria
Frail older people living at home in Bradford.
Publications
Clegg A, Barber S, Young J, Forster A, Iliffe S. The Home-Based Older People’s Exercise (HOPE) trial: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMC Trials 2011;12:143. (PDF)
Clegg A, Barber S, Young G, Iliffe S, Forster A. The Home-based Older People’s Exercise (HOPE) trial: a pilot randomised controlled trial of a home-based exercise intervention for older people with frailty. Age and Aging 2014; 43: 687-695. (PDF)
Funding agency
Dunhill Medical Trust