Imparting digital skills to people aged 55 years and over in the UK

This research has been conducted by The Open University, UK and has been inspired by the authors’ association with Age UK Milton Keynes. Our aim has been to present a case for imparting digital skills to people aged over 55 years of age, and to present strategies, which partnerships of academic institutions, businesses, and organisations in the voluntary sector (e.g. Age UK, Carers UK) could take forward. Some of our recommendations include: •the need for more robust evidence for the efficiency and effectiveness of digital inclusion initiatives for their sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and their impact; •design of evidence-based training initiatives for digital inclusion of older people; •highlighting the significance of digital skills training of the ageing workforce; •aiming for digital competence in training initiatives so that people develop skills along with knowledge and attitudes – so that they can apply what they have learned to other emerging technologies, contexts, devices and platforms; •inter-generational digital inclusion initiatives; •improving and extending partnership working with the voluntary sector such as Age UK and Carers UK; •Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme(s) for senior managers on provding support to the older workforce (including carers and disabled people); •online learning programmes and/or certification for designers/content developers - training them on the accessible (inclusive) design of online services (including websites, smart phones or mobile interfaces) and smart spaces for an ageing society

Role Of Digital Health Wearables In The Wellbeing And Quality Of Life Of Older People And Carers

The number of adults aged 65 and over has increased by 2% across Europe in the past 15 years, and in Northern Ireland by 22% between 2003-2013. The proportion of the population in this age group is projected to increase by 63% to just under 0.5 million by 2033 – which will be a quarter of the population in Northern Ireland. Given Northern Ireland’s Active Ageing Strategy (2015-2021), there is an increasing focus on encouraging physical activity as we get older to preserve mobility and motor skills, and to enjoy the benefits of living longer and to minimise health problems associated with ageing. Over the last two years, we have been investigating the role of wearable activity tracking technologies in self-monitoring of activity by people aged over 55. Example technologies include activity trackers from Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung, and smart watches. Typically, these devices record steps walked, sleep patterns, calories expended and heart rate. Based on empirical investigations, this policy paper describes the benefits of activity monitors for people aged over 55 for self-monitoring of physical activity, for adopting healthy lifestyles, and for increasing or maintaining physical activity as a way to avoid high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and other medical conditions associated with weight or lower physical activity. It outlines the role of activity trackers in post-operative monitoring of mobility during rehabilitation, in caring, and for possible use of the data for diagnosis and medical interventions. It then discusses the challenges for adoption of these technologies, given currently, off-the-shelf devices are designed and calibrated for use by physically fit (typically young active people) with unrealistic fitness targets for the older generation

Social isolation and loneliness in people aged 55 and over in Milton Keynes: developing an action plan

In this workshop, we outlined the conditions that lead to social isolation and loneliness among older people (55 years and above) in Milton Keynes, and recommended possible strategies and solutions to prevent and mitigate isolation. The findings are based on the Milton Keynes Council-commissioned report http://oro.open.ac.uk/43925/. The research involved a review of academic and policy literature on social isolation and loneliness, and an information gathering exercise that included expert workshops, individual and group interviews, and site visits. The general risk factors that affect Milton Keynes residents include: low income, low literacy, poor health and disability, losses and bereavement, family, social and neighbourhood change, unemployment or redundancy, and aspects of the built environment and infrastructure. Specific additional challenges for Milton Keynes include: rapidly ageing population (from a low base); the pace of development of Milton Keynes and neighbourhood changes; structural elements including the design of and balance between the city centre, housing estates, and satellite villages; community diversity from deprived to affluent areas; a diverse and growing population of older people from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups; and the crucial on-going transport issues. We discussed services to alleviate social isolation and which cater to different kinds of needs, including one-to-one services (e.g. visits by community home visitors, regular phone conversations, walking ‘partner’ – e.g. after the bereavement of a pet), group services (e.g. lunch clubs, coffee mornings, Men in sheds, knitting club, walking groups, local history society), and wider social activities (e.g. capturing sporting memories or reminiscing). We identified a need for continuity of several of these services, and that new services should be developed to bridge gaps in provision. We recommended that Milton Keynes Council should consider: paying attention to events in the lives of older people, designing a variety of services for different age groups, life stages and health (55+, 65+, 75+, 85+, …), inter-generational initiatives, being gender-aware, focussing on the quality rather than the quantity and recognising that families play a key role. We suggested factors for successful service design: developing services that are co-designed and led by older people, council-provided framework for delivery of the services (e.g. ‘neighbourhood watch’ in West Bletchley), developing volunteering capacity within communities and training for the volunteers (e.g. by Age UK Milton Keynes). Further, we suggested that it is important to know the social and economic impact of the service and, therefore, evaluation should be integral when the service is being designed and delivered. We emphasised that there is a need for a ‘simple’ and low cost evaluation toolkit: e.g. well-being questionnaire or workshops to determine the reach and impact of the service. This evaluation will feed into the improvement of the service and possibly more funding to grow and sustain the service. We listed three key messages from our research: co-designing services with older people that match with their requirements; evaluation should be integral when the service is being designed and delivered and imparting digital skills to people aged over 55 years (http://oro.open.ac.uk/44009/) which would influence and possibly improve their interactions with the local government, help in cultivation of their interests, and facilitate social interactions

Social isolation and loneliness in people aged 55 and over in Milton Keynes: the way forward

The Ageing Well and Living Well Scoping Workshop was organised by Gail Addison, Head of Public Health – Delivery, People Directorate, Milton Keynes Council in collaboration with Age UK Milton Keynes. The aims of the workshop were to: • Explore the connectivity between the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) and existing Partnership and Programme Boards across Milton Keynes • Explore the remit of the Partnership and Programme Boards in order to identify commonalities and fit with the HWB Board’s Strategic Implementation Plan and Priorities, including; • Social Isolation (Priority focus for Ageing Well partnership) • Reducing Obesity (Priority focus for Living Well partnership) • Identify next steps and commitment to action At this workshop, Professor Shailey Minocha of The Open University along with Jane Palmer, CEO, Age UK Milton Keynes led the track on social isolation and loneliness in people aged over 55 years in Milton Keynes. We highlighted the effects of social isolation and loneliness on the well-being and quality of life of people. For example, individuals lacking social contact carry a health risk equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes in a day. We discussed the societal impacts of social isolation such as increased use of health and social care services, higher number of emergency admissions and GP consultations, slower discharge from hospitals which causes pressure on financial resources and health services. We outlined the risk factors of social isolation and particularly in the context of Milton Keynes. Drawing on from our report (http://oro.open.ac.uk/43925/), we emphasised the challenges for the community and for older people due to the increasing population of older people in Milton Keynes. We presented possible solutions for addressing the problem of social isolation and loneliness in Milton Keynes in three categories: one-to-one interventions (e.g. visits by community home visitors, regular phone conversations, visits by neighbours); group interventions (e.g. Men in sheds, lunch clubs, coffee mornings, inter-generational initiatives – for example, learning to get online, walking groups, local history society) and wider community and neighbourhood interventions such as encouraging older people to be volunteers; co-designing the programmes with older people - e.g. neighbouhood watch programmes and design of age-friendly design of spaces – local neighbourhoods and city centre in Milton Keynes

Social isolation and loneliness in people aged 55 and over in the UK

In association with Age UK Milton Keynes, we have conducted research to investigate the conditions that lead to social isolation and loneliness among older people (55 years and above) in Milton Keynes, and to recommend possible strategies and solutions to prevent and mitigate isolation. The project was funded by the Milton Keynes Council and commissioned by the Senior Joint Commissioner, Adult Community Services. The research has involved a review of academic and policy literature on social isolation and loneliness, and an information gathering exercise that included expert workshops, individual and group interviews, and site visits. This talk will be based on the project's report (http://oro.open.ac.uk/43925/) and will discuss several case studies of older people and interventions for social isolation and loneliness within Milton Keynes. We hope that the recommendations and the resources from our report and in this talk would be useful for other communities, towns and cities, who may also be facing the challenges of supporting an ageing population. Taking the example of an online photo journal which encourages users to document their life with just one photo each day, we will discuss how online social interactions influence the lives of older people, the challenges that they face, and the concerns that they have about being online

Novel Approaches to Investigate One-Carbon Metabolism and Related B-Vitamins in Blood Pressure.

Hypertension, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, is the world's leading cause of preventable, premature death. A common polymorphism (677C→T) in the gene encoding the folate metabolizing enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is associated with increased blood pressure, and there is accumulating evidence demonstrating that this phenotype can be modulated, specifically in individuals with the MTHFR 677TT genotype, by the B-vitamin riboflavin, an essential co-factor for MTHFR. The underlying mechanism that links this polymorphism, and the related gene-nutrient interaction, with hypertension is currently unknown. Previous research has shown that 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the product of the reaction catalysed by MTHFR, appears to be a positive allosteric modulator of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and may thus increase the production of nitric oxide, a potent vasodilator. Blood pressure follows a circadian pattern, peaking shortly after wakening and falling during the night, a phenomenon known as 'dipping'. Any deviation from this pattern, which can only be identified using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), has been associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This review will consider the evidence linking this polymorphism and novel gene-nutrient interaction with hypertension and the potential mechanisms that might be involved. The role of ABPM in B-vitamin research and in nutrition research generally will also be reviewed.The PhD studentship of A.M. was funded by the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning. DSM Nutritional Products Ltd. partly supported project costs associated with this work. The funders had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this paper

Investigating the role of wearable activity-tracking technologies in the well-being and quality of life of people aged 55 and over

In the Sir Halley Stewart Trust funded project on digital health wearables (http://www.shaileyminocha.info/digital-health-wearables/), we have been investigating whether and how wearable activity-tracking technologies (e.g. smart watches or activity trackers from Fitbit, Garmin, etc.) can facilitate self-monitoring of activity and health by people aged 55 years and over, and by carers for monitoring the health and activity of the people they care for. On the Sir Halley Stewart Trust-funded project (May 2016 - July 2017), through empirical investigations and in collaboration with Age UK Milton Keynes (MK), Carers MK, and GPs and healthcare professionals, we have identified: • challenges for adoption of these technologies; • the need to design for age-related impairments (e.g. vision, hearing, memory, dexterity); • concerns related to data management, security and data privacy; • positive behavioural changes of using activity monitoring devices, and, in general; • the role of digital health wearables in caring, self-management of health, post-operative monitoring of mobility, and for monitoring movement and locations in conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Ageing population, retaining independence of older people, support to carers, and using internet-enabled technologies to transform healthcare services are some of the national concerns. We are now involved in a multi-way knowledge-exchange (KE) programme (April 2017 - January 2018) through an ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Award to set up dialogues with/between key stakeholders including manufacturers for improving the design of digital health wearables for older users, carers and medical professionals

Mapping research across the undergraduate curriculum in UCC

UCC identifies itself as a research-led University and has stated the ambition to strengthen the integration of research, teaching and learning by maximising opportunities for students to participate in research programmes throughout their undergraduate studies. The number of undergraduate programmes with student-involved research from first year onwards is an important measure of this ambition. A curriculum analytics project was enacted by CIRTL staff and Academic Systems Administration to gather evidence of research-oriented and research-based teaching in undergraduate programmes offered to students via the CAO system in 2015/2016. The review showed that 55% of undergraduate programmes make explicit mention of research and inquiry in their programme learning outcomes. Analysis of module learning outcomes further showed that 45% of the reviewed programmes provide students with exposure to research-based or research-oriented teaching across the duration of their programme. The project provides an important baseline of existing research in the undergraduate curriculum, it uncovers exemplar activities across a range of subject areas and disciplines, and extends the vocabulary around research and inquiry to include discipline-specific approaches and understandings. Future work will include gathering feedback from staff and qualitative research with students to correct any inaccuracies in the data with a view to refining the search query and running a regular, more automated analysis