The Community Ageing Research 75+ (CARE75+) Study COVID-19 Survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about major changes to the lives of people living in the United Kingdom (UK). In the UK, those over 70 years have been identified as clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 and directed to minimise contact with people outside of their household. These measures help reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. However, there may be consequences to social distancing and self-isolation which can impact on mood and loneliness. Furthermore, access to health and care services can be challenging during the current time and the changing situation means that information might be hard to keep abreast of.
We are undertaking a short over-the-phone survey which can help inform Bradford District’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and identify how services might best support older people during this situation. Older people (≥ 75 years) living in Bradford who are participants, or former participants, in the Community Ageing 75+ Research (CARE75+) Study will be invited to take part. They will be asked questions about their ability to access health and support services, about their mood, how they are communicating with other people, the sources of information that they use to find out about COVID-19, and any worries or concerns they might have about the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.
As well as having the potential to inform service provision for older people in Bradford during the COVID-19 pandemic, survey results could inform a future research proposal for a national study to undertake in-depth qualitative interviews with older people to understand how they can be better supported during future pandemic and lock-down situations.
May 2020
Prestige and significance of gerontological science
Emeritus Professor John Young has been given a prestigious award by the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. This is a well-deserved recognition of John’s immense achievements.
https://iagger2019.se/awards-education/award-of-ia-gger-for-advances-in-gerontology-and-geriatrics/
April 2019
Celebrating 30 years of stroke and elderly care research in Bradford
It is 30 years since the successful research centre was founded – and over the decades it has grown to become an international leader in healthcare innovation, playing a leading role in stroke and elderly care research. Today the unit has a current grant income of £13 million and over the years it has built up a large portfolio of applied health research relevant to older people and people with stroke, addressing key clinical questions.
The anniversary was marked by a celebration dinner at Bradford City Hall, attended by staff, patients and those who have supported and helped the unit in its work over the years.
“We never imagined the unit would develop as it has, generating research work which has made us one of the most pioneering elderly care and stroke research units internationally.”
The marking of the anniversary was featured in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, click here to read the article.
Success of electronic Frailty Index (eFI)
Colleagues in the Academic Unit for Ageing and Stroke Research have developed and validated an electronic Frailty Index (eFI) using existing patient level data in primary care. The eFI team, led by Dr Andy Clegg, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Geriatrician; Professor John Young, Professor of Elderly Care Medicine; and Dr Tizzy Teale, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Geriatrician has been shortlisted for two top national awards. The team won the prestigious Royal College of Physicians Excellence in Clinical Care award for Innovation, which recognise outstanding clinical activity that contributes to excellent patient care in an innovative and forward-thinking way.
Use of the eFI is now in the new General Medical Services contract, a contractual requirement for practices to screen for frailty, allowing them to identify and consider offering treatment options to their frail elderly patients. The eFI is also featured in the 2016 NICE Multimorbidity Guideline as a recommended tool to identify people who may require an approach to care that takes account of multimorbidity.
Outstanding recognition
Department Lead Professor Anne Forster was appointed as a Senior Investigator with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in April 2017. Quoted by the NIHR as among the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR and the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the NIHR Faculty. She has been involved in programme of events providing visible leadership within the NIHR.