Feasibility and acceptability of a new home-based health promotion intervention for older people with mild frailty: feasibility randomised controlled trial.

Background: Older people with mild frailty can feel “slowed up” or fatigued needing help with instrumental activities of daily living. Health promotion interventions may help maintain independence and well-being, but we don’t know which approaches work. We tested the feasibility/acceptability of a new home-based health promotion service for older people with mild frailty. Methods: Eligible participants from two regions were randomised to receive a new health promotion service over 6 months or treatment as usual. The service included up to 12 sessions with a trained support worker, tailored to their own outcome goals, using behaviour change techniques. Baseline and 6 month assessments included measurements of functioning, frailty characteristics, psychological wellbeing, cognition, health behaviours, quality of life, and service use. Feasibility/acceptability data included recruitment/retention and a mixed methods process evaluation (semi-structured interviews and questionnaires). Results: Recruitment (n=51/50) and retention (n=48/51) were highly successful. No serious adverse events related to the intervention were observed. Findings on clinical outcomes will be presented. Results from process evaluation questionnaires (response rate 42/48) show that trial procedures were acceptable. Interviews with 16 intervention participants suggested most were satisfied with the service, found it helpful and made progress meeting their behavioural/outcome goals. Conclusion: Overall, the new health promotion service for mildly frail older people was feasible and acceptable, with potential benefits that need to be tested in a larger-scale evaluation.