Effective implementation approaches for healthy ageing interventions for older people: A rapid review. (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Owusu-Addo, Ebenezer; Ofori-Asenso, Richard; Batchelor, Frances; Mahtani, Kamal; Brijnath, Bianca
• Is Part Of: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics. Volume 92(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: Healthy ageing -- interventions -- implementation drivers -- older people -- rapid review; Aging -- Periodicals; Geriatrics -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 305.26
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104263
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0167-4943

Abstract

Highlights: Systematic reviews on healthy ageing interventions have primarily focused on assessing their effectiveness. Evidence on how and why healthy ageing interventions work is required to optimise program impacts. Effective implementation approaches are partnership across organisations and co-design. Social participation is an important factor for the success of healthy ageing interventions. Healthy ageing interventions focusing on upstream actions hold more promise. Abstract: Background and objectives: Systematic reviews on healthy ageing interventions have primarily focused on assessing their effectiveness, not the implementation processes underpinning them, and the factors influencing program effectiveness. This has created a knowledge gap about what are effective implementation approaches, and how to scale up such interventions at the population level. Our aim in this rapid review was to synthesise the evidence on implementation of effective healthy ageing interventions, and to identify the factors that influence population-level implementation of these interventions. Design and methods: Following the PRISMA checklist, we searched for papers in six databases: Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycArticles and PsycINFO. A narrative synthesis was used to summarise the results. Results: Twenty-nine articles reporting on 21 healthy ageing interventions (studies) were included in the review. The findings show that a wide range of approaches to implementation were used including collaborative partnership, co-design, use of volunteers, person centred-care, and self-directed/professional-led approaches. The key implementation drivers were the use of behavioural change techniques, social interaction, tailoring of interventions, booster sessions, and multi-component and multi-professional team approach to intervention design and delivery. Conclusion: The effectiveness of healthy ageing interventions is contingent on a number of factors including the type of implementation approaches used, the context in which programs are implemented, and the specific mechanisms that may be at play at the individual older adult level.