Well-being and Healthy Choices for Older Adults and Their Carers – WHOLE

Well-being and Healthy Choices for Older Adults and Their Carers – WHOLE

Benefits of exercise have been shown in various populations of older adults: healthy and frail, with multimorbidity or specific diseases such as dementia and depression, and those who experience major life events such as trauma, surgery, and bereavement. In spite of these benefits of exercise, a major part of the older population in Europe does not get a sufficient amount of physical activity. The higher the age, the harder it is to be sufficiently physically active (Curriculum EUNAAPA). It is obvious that as people are getting older, it becomes more difficult for them to participate in active ageing actions. Reasons for this are emerging restricting factors as frailty, mobility problems, chronic diseases, lack of mood and motivation, and even not sufficient information. So what about those elderly people who almost or entirely are confined into their home environment? How can adapted active ageing actions and initiatives reach them and help them preserve the quality of life and level of functionality they have?
WHOLE project's main objective was to promote active and healthy ageing through physical training for frail seniors and elderly people at home, using as a mean the personalized home care services provided to them by formal and informal carers. At the same time, WHOLE project equally emphasized on the effect of the physical training on wellbeing and relief of formal and especially informal carers. WHOLE project’s specific objective was to develop a basic e-learning platform for physical exercising and healthy diet at home to train formal and informal carers to use it as an integral part of the home care services they provide, specified to the prevention of functional decline and frailty among elderly people.
As a first step, the stakeholder’s needs and barriers to health behaviour in general and our specific ideas were assessed in a stakeholder needs analysis including interviews, focus groups and a survey with carers and older adults. Additional research was conducted in a literature review. Based on this research and considering the expert knowledge in the partnership, the educational material (training modules) for the physical training and nutrition counselling were developed. The development of the training materials was closely related to the development of the e-learning platform, where all materials are provided free and in all partner languages. To implement the training materials and e-learning platform and validate feasibility, acceptance and adherence for older adults and carers, a two-staged pilot study was implemented. As part of the pilot study, a training for carers was organised in each partner location to train carers in the use and implementation of the program. A market and business study was conducted in all partner countries to allow a sustainable implementation of the e-learning platform and training material. The results were presented to the target group and other stakeholders in six multiplier events at the end of the project to motivate stakeholders to use and adopt the innovative platform.
We reached the following impact on the target group formal/informal carers:
• Free access to adult learning services in terms of a useful and high quality learning material for the implementation of physical training and healthy nutrition as part of daily care via an e-learning platform.
• Enhancement of the quality and range of the work and services provided in daily care by updating the skills and competences.
• Raised awareness of the importance of healthy habits.
• Gratitude of carers for new ideas.
• Reduced burden of care and opportunity to take a break from care giving tasks.
Impact on the elderly/care recipients:
• Experiences of new offers for active ageing as part of care and motivation to be as active as possible.
• Support to maintain autonomous at home and avoid hospitalization by improved physical conditions.
• Improved mood, confidence, health and wellbeing, energy and/or relationship with carers.
Impact on organizations/other stakeholders:
• Opportunity to offer new and innovative care service packages and to enrich training materials for carers.
• Plans to include the program in VET, thus enriching the possibilities to qualify carers or social workers.
• Possibility to share experiences with the WHOLE or similar programs in the multiplier events thus enriching the discussion and definition of best practices.
• Update of the academic knowledge by the needs analysis and literature review as well as the pilot studies.
The project involved 7 highly committed partners from Austria, Bulgaria, Germany (2), Greece, Ireland, and Israel and were all experts in at least one of the relevant fields of the project (care, physical activity, nutrition, and/or adult education).

The Partners:

WESTFAELISCHE WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAET MUENSTER, Germany - Coordinator

AGE ACTION IRELAND LTD, Ireland
APHOI KOUMANAKOU & SIA EE, Greece
Association Generations, Bulgaria
BERUFSFORDERUNGSINSTITUT OBEROSTERREICH, Austria
Deutsches Institut für angewandte Sportgerontologie e.V., Germany
ProActivate Ireland Limited, Ireland
The Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the Wingate Institute, Israel
Wohlfahrtswerk für Baden-Württemberg, Germany