Three hundred people aged over 60 to participate in a pilot project to promote healthy ageing
The pilot phase of the APTITUDE PROXI (EFA 018/01) project is now underway. The project will allow evaluating the physical and mental health of close to 300 older people with a high degree of autonomy. The pilot phase is led by a multidisciplinary team of professionals from the primary healthcare teams (EAP) of Ocata-Teià and El Gorg, the Catalan Health Institute's Primary Healthcare and Community Management of Northern Barcelona and Maresme, and the EAPs Nova Lloreda, Morera-Pomar and Montgat-Tiana, the Badalona Healthcare Services (BSA), and includes the support of the Foundation Health and Ageing UAB. This initiative forms part of a European project in which institutes from France, Navarre and Andorra also participate.
As part of the Interreg Poctefa call, co-funded by the European Union, this initiative was created under the framework of the World Health Organization's Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) package thanks to a trans-border agreement entitled "Actuar per a la prevenció de proximitat transpirinenca de la dependència entre les persones grans" ["Act for the prevention of dependency among older people across the Pyrenees"]. The agreement was signed by the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHUT), the Gérontopôle de Toulouse and the Equipe Régionale Vieillissement et Prévention de la Dépendance (ERVPD), France; Navarrabiomed, Navarre; the Servei Andorrà d'Atenció Sanitària, Andorra; and the Foundation for Health and Ageing UAB, Catalonia.
This initiative aims to advance towards a more preventive, proactive and person-centered care model, taking advantage of community resources and coordination between health and social professionals.
Six key areas
The multidisciniplinary team of professionals conducting the project is interested in implementing in Catalonia the World Health Organization's Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) package in the prevention of disabilities. Through an evaluation, the team will be able to detect early signs of possible alterations in six key areas: physical, cognitive, psychological, vitality (nutritional), visual and auditory capacities, with the aim of intervening and preventing, or stopping the deterioration. Participants will be offered health recommendations, informed about group activities, prescribed community actions and referred to medical specialists. These actions will always be agreed upon with the participants.
During this first pilot phase the physical and mental health of almost 300 people with a high degree of autonomy will be evaluated. Their participation is fundamental to assess the viability of implementing the ICOPE package. Participants will be asked to take part in the different phases of the programme, including activities such as the initial evaluation, the confirming of results, the development of a personalised intervention plan and continuous monitoring.
The project will include group activities and workshops aimed at favouring the autonomy and quality of life of older people. The workshops will focus on subjects such as the prevention of falls, emotional health, healthy eating, physical activity adapted to their age, support for carers, and other key aspects needed for an active and safe ageing process.
Four phases
The APTITUDE-PROXI pilot phase launched to implement the ICOPE package is divided into four phases and includes the participation of 300 older people with a high degree of autonomy.
The first phase consists in detection, in which a brief evaluation will be used to analyse globally six dimensions of intrinsic capacities: psychological, locomotive, nutritional, cognitive, auditory and visual aspects.
The second phase is the confirmation, in which healthcare centre professionals will contact participants in which alterations of the capacities are detected to offer a more detailed evaluation.
The third phase is the Personalised Intervention Plan, in which the confirmed alterations of capacities will be treated with the aim of improving or maintaining the physical and mental capacities of the participant.
The fourth phase will consist in continuous monitoring, which will be conducted by the healthcare team, for both physical and mental capacities, in which the detection and confirmation evaluations will be repeated six months later.
The UAB, with Sustainable Development Goals
Good health and well-being