PreventIT

Almost daily, new mobile technology becomes available to help us get or remain in shape, such as fitness apps, heart rate monitors, and fitness trackers.

Most of this technology is aimed at young adults and is developed to help them achieve specific training goals.

The PreventIT project aims to use this new mobile technology to create solutions that can help older adults to become more active in everyday life. In addition, technology will be used to assess and predict the risk of functional decline for individuals aged 60-70 years and to provide them with a personalised programme to reduce this risk and maintain independence.
Our behaviour change interventions build on the LiFE training concept providing challenging strength, balance and physical activities that can be integrated into existing routines, to form new habits.

This project group consists of five renowned universities, two university hospitals, and two companies, with combined skills in technology development, medical science, behavioural science, communication solutions, healthcare innovation, and product development.

Aims of the study

  • Develop two behaviour change interventions aimed at recently retired older adults – one paper-based, one mobile technology-enabled.
  • Trial both interventions against a control group in a three-arm, three-site randomised controlled trial.
  • Use mobile technology to deliver real-time feedback to participants in one arm, motivating them to adopt a more active lifestyle.
  • Assess the feasibility of these interventions in preventing functional decline.

Principal investigators

Manchester co-investigators

Funder/funding period

  • European Union’s Horizon 2020, January 2016 - December 2018

Researchers

Disciplines involved

  • Health Psychology
  • Movement Science
  • Electronic and Information Engineering
  • Gerontology
  • Epidemiology.

Partner organisations

  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • University of Bologna
  • Free University Amsterdam
  • Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus
  • University of Manchester
  • Local Health Unit Tuscany Centre
  • Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
  • Doxee
  • Health Leads

More information