Tagged / active ageing

Impact of virtual reality on the well-being and travel experiences of people affected by dementia

BU Challenges, BU research, BU2025, Fusion, Fusion themes, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, REF Subjects, Research communication, Research news, Student Engagement

I am undertaking a research placement as part of my studies on the MSc Foundations of Clinical Psychology. In my role as a research assistant, I have been working on a project that aimed to introduce the idea of travelling using Virtual Reality headsets for people with dementia and their caregivers/ family members. Virtual reality (VR) technology presents a promising means of bridging geographical divides and empowering individuals with dementia to participate in their communities in ways that were not possible prior to diagnosis. Additionally, research has demonstrated the value of virtual reality in helping people with dementia remember their past, revisit their hometown, or most treasured vacation spots. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how virtual reality can support people with dementia with travel and explore the impact on their wellbeing.

This is a collaborative pilot research study involving BU staff from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) (Dr. Michelle Heward, Dr. Catherine Talbot, Dr. Michele Board, Dr Aisling Flynn, Lyndsey Bradley) and the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR) (Dr. Daisy Fan, Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis) alongside colleagues from PramaLife (Sue Warr and Jo Keats) and is funded with QR funding from the Department of Psychology. We collected data on campus, and I was able to support this and had an opportunity to engage with the participants. The participants were asked to come to 2 sessions. The first session consisted of a session in the Blended Learning Interactive Simulation Suite, also known as the BLISS room. In this room, the participants and their caregivers were given the chance to play interactive VR games of their choice on the walls or visit different parts of the UK, such as London and Oxford. The second session consisted of using the VR headsets, where the participants were able to use the headsets themselves, which allows them to virtually experience other parts of the world, by looking around and having access to a 360 view, of a location of their choosing, whether that be somewhere they had never been to or reminisce about places they have been.

Given this immense opportunity to relive and reminisce about their previous experiences around the world, and their respective homes, the reception was overall a positive one. The participants left feeling positive about having virtually visited places from their past and having engaged with places they have never been to or would like to go to in the future. They provided some useful insights and feedback to inform future research in this area. We now move towards analysing and publishing the data.

Roshin Sibu

For more information about this project please email Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk

New eBook published in April

BU research, international, Research communication, Research news

Two weeks ago our eBook Evidence-based approaches in aging and public health was published online by Frontiers Media [1].  This ebook is co-edited by BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Brijesh Sathian (based in Qatar), Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at the University of Huddersfield) and Prof. Edwin van Teijingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) as well as Drs. Russell Kabir and Hanadi Al Hamad.  This eBook started life as a Special Issue for the journal Frontiers in Public Health.  We wrote the accompanying editorial for 15 selected articles in this Special Issue [2].  This publication raises the interesting question when does a Special Issue become an eBook.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

 

References:

  1. Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Al Hamad, H., Kabir, R., eds. (2024). Evidence-based approaches in aging and public health. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-8325-4780-9
  2. Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Kabir, R., Al Hamad, H. (2024) Editorial: Evidence-based approaches in Aging and Public Health, Frontier in Public Health 12 2024 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1391432

Ageing and Dementia Research Forum – 29th June – Digital Health Coaching DIALOR

BU research, BU2025, Events, Fusion themes, Knowledge Exchange, Research Centres, Research communication

Details of the next ADRC ageing and dementia research forum are listed below. The forum is an opportunity for staff and PhD students to get together to chat about research and share experiences in a safe and supportive environment. Specific topics are discussed but there is also time for open discussion to mull over aspects of research such as project ideas and planning, ethical considerations and patient and public involvement.

Date, time, and campus Research areas
29th June 2023

15.00-15.45

BG601, Bournemouth Gateway

Lansdowne Campus

 ‘Digital health coaching for older people with frailty in Wessex (DIALOR) ’Rachel Christie

If you would like to discuss your research ideas at a future meeting, please email Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk

We look forward to seeing you there.

Ageing and Dementia Research Centre

Ageing and Dementia Research Forum – 26th January – Accessible Tourism

BU research, Fusion, Research communication, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, research methods, research opportunities, research staff

Details of the next ADRC ageing and dementia research forum are listed below. The forum is an opportunity for staff and PhD students to get together to chat about research and share experiences in a safe and supportive environment. Specific topics are discussed but there is also time for open discussion to mull over aspects of research such as project ideas and planning, ethical considerations and patient and public involvement.

Date, time, and campus Research areas
26th January 2023

15.30-16.45

BG601, Bournemouth Gateway

Lansdowne Campus

 ‘Accessible Tourism for Ageing and Dementia travellers’

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis and Dr Daisy Fan

Please confirm attendance by email to adrc@bournemouth.ac.uk

If you would like to discuss your research ideas at a future meeting, please email Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk

We look forward to seeing you there.

Ageing and Dementia Research Centre

Eating more eggs to increase protein intake in older adults

BU research, Postgraduate Research, Research news

It is estimated that around 1.3 million older people in the UK are living with malnutrition or are at risk of being malnourished, with 93 per cent of these living in the community. With the rapid increase in British older adults, it is increasingly important to find strategies to maintain and improve good health and well-being in the older population. As people get older they tend to eat less, and specifically less protein. This could negatively affect health because protein intake is particularly important as we age. With age, people are less able to use the protein they eat to build muscles and perform other important biological processes. Moreover, many protein sources – such as meat, fish and nuts – become more difficult to eat or are expensive and time-consuming to prepare. As a result, people tend to eat less while they need more protein. Low protein consumption has been found to result in increased illness and infection and increased chances of falls, fractures and hospital stays. It can also lead to reduced mobility, independence and wellbeing, and increased early death. Dr Emmy van den Heuvel, Prof. Katherine Appleton and Prof. Jane Murphy have conducted research investigating the barriers to consuming high-protein foods in older adults. One research study examined whether finding new and interesting ways to eat eggs could be a way to encourage older adults to consume more protein.

Eggs are a good source of protein, and are soft, they are easy to prepare, they are relatively cheap and have a long shelf-life compared to other protein rich foods, and therefore may help to increase protein intake in older adults. In a randomised control trial with 100 participants, older adults were given six high-protein egg-based recipes every fortnight for three months, along with herb and spice packets. The study found that by providing these new ideas for high protein meals, participants who were given the recipes increased their egg intake for up to 12 weeks after the intervention.

The study is now published online ahead of print in Public Health Nutrition at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980020002712.

The work was funded by Bournemouth University and the British Egg Industry Council.

https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/2019-10-16/eating-more-eggs-increase-protein-intake-we-age?

Good week for FHSS publications!

BU research, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing

Hundley Cochrane 2016This first week of March has been a good week for FHSS publications.  On March 1st CMMPH Prof. Vanora Hundley published her collaborative paper  ‘Do Cochrane summaries help student midwives understand the findings of Cochrane systematic reviews: the BRIEF randomised trial’.[1]  With colleagues based across the UK and Ireland she surveyed over 800 midwifery students at nine universities.  This results of the study can be found in the journal Systematic Reviews. This is a Gold Open Access journals, hence the paper is freely available for anybody to read across the globe.  To read this paper click here!

PH curious 2016The second FHSS publication is a chapter in a Kindle book on the Importance of public health in low- and middle- income countries, written by Dr. Puspa Raj Pant,CMMPH’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada.[2]  Padam Simkhada is Professor of International Public Health and Associate Dean (Global Engagement) for the Faculty of Education, Health and Community at Liverpool John Moores University.  The chapter is part of the Kindle book  with the long title: Public Health for the Curious: Why Study Public Health? (A Decision-Making Guide to College Major, Research & Scholarships, and Career Success for the College Students and Their Parents) edited by Richard Lee Skolnik from Yale University, USA.

The third paper is by FHSS PhD student Clare Farrance with her supervisors Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Dr. Carol Clark.  This systematic review ‘Adherence to community based group exercise interventions for older people: A mixed-methods systematic review’ assessed the views and adherence of older participants attending community-based exercise programmes of over six-months duration.  Reporting that evidence is still very limited, although the preliminary limited evidence is positive regarding long-term adherence rates.  This paper is also Open Access, funded by BU’s Open Access fund.Farrance 2016

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

 

References:

  1. Alderdice, F., McNeill, J., Lasserson, T.,Beller, E., Carrol, M., Hundley, V., et al. (2016) Do Cochrane summaries help student midwives understand the findings of Cochrane systematic reviews: the BRIEF randomised trial. Systematic Reviews 5:40 http://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-016-0214-8
  2. Pant, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2016)  Importance of public health in low- and middle- income countries, In:  Skolnik, R.L. (ed.) Public Health for the Curious: Why Study Public Health? (A Decision-Making Guide to College Major, Research & Scholarships, and Career Success for the College Students and Their Parents) Kindle Edition (for more details click here!) 
  3. Farrance, C., Tsofliou, F., Clark, C. (2016) Adherence to community based group exercise interventions for older people: A mixed-methods systematic review To be published. Preventive Medicine (forthcoming)

Active Ageing Conference

EU

NET4SOCIETY, the network of National Contact Points for research in the field of Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in FP7, is hosting an Active Ageing Conference  in Dublin on 9th-11th July 2012.

The event will be themed around the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations and will focus on the human and social aspects and implications of active ageing. Key note speakers include Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary General of the AGE Platform Europe network and Lenia Samuel from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

Thematic sessions will be based on four key topics:

  • Employment;
  • Social participation;
  • Intergenerational solidarity; and
  • Economy and innovation.

This is a great opportunity to meet potential new partners!

EU Active and Healthy Ageing Innovation Partnership announce focus of research areas

EU

The Active & Healthy Ageing EU Innovation Partnership was established earlier this year with a pilot aim to increase the average healthy lifespan in Europe by two years by 2020. Its steering group (33 members from Europe including member states and regional authorities, organisations representing groups of patients, doctors, academics, and businesses) announced this week that it will focus on 5 research and policy areas:

  1. improving medicines compliance
  2. preventing falls
  3. fighting frailty and malnutrition
  4. developing new care models
  5. boosting the uptake of ICT solutions for independent living

The strategy includes in particular actions at the regional level, for example to spread remote monitoring care models for older patients suffering from chronic diseases. Other actions will be added later to these first five priorities, including improving health literacy and the diagnosis of cognitive decline.