This research paper provides an insight into a new health promotion intervention for older people in England called HomeHealth. The aim of this intervention is to support older people with mild frailty by providing personalised home visits tailored to the needs of the older person. A clinical trial involving 388 participants with mild frailty from three different areas of England (London, Hertfordshire, Yorkshire) was conducted to assess its cost-effectiveness and clinical effectiveness in maintaining older people’s independence at home. 195 participants were randomised to receive the HomeHealth treatment over 6 months (6 visits), while the remaining 193 participants received their usual care. Participants’ independent functioning was then assessed after 12 months.
Findings suggest:
– No effects on independent functioning (which could be explained by a limited scope for improvement).
– Some small improvements in psychological distress, well-being and frailty were observed for the HomeHealth group over the course of the treatment.
– More importantly, unplanned hospital admissions were reduced by 35% in participants who received the HomeHealth intervention. This implies cost-effectiveness due to the lower cost of the intervention compared to the cost of hospital care.
Overall, this potentially cost-saving intervention delivered by the voluntary sector, was found to be safe and efficient, placing more emphasis on community-based and preventative care.