CrossCare

Within the CrossCare project, IPitup decided to focus on prevention among older persons and allow them to be physically active in their own living environment for longer. After all, people need to move more, both young and not so young.

By considering their needs and individual limitations into account, IPitup also wanted to give older people the opportunity to move, and thus preventively stop the development of chronic diseases and drastically reduce the risk of falling. This will also allow older people to live longer and more comfortably at home, which also has a major impact on healthcare costs.

At the start of the study, the IPitup activity package consisted of three components: the activity bench, the accompanying activity app and a coaching and workshop programme. These enable the World Health Organization (WHO) physicial activity guidelines - a combination of aerobic, strength and balance training - to be easily applied in daily life. The IPitup activity package had already been successfully introduced to numerous local authorities, schools and companies with adults and adolescents as end-users since the beginning of 2018. Within the CrossCare project, we wanted to develop, test and implement an adapted activity package in the context of prevention in care for older people. With the support of CrossCare and the cooperation of the several stakeholders, the different components had to undergo multiple upgrades in order to become an age-friendly variant for older persons.

Using a participation game, the various stakeholders within the context of older people were first identified. This was followed by zooming in on the primary end-users. An extensive survey of the older persons provided valuable insights regarding their activity patterns on the one hand and illustrated a great interest in the already existing IPitup activity package on the other.

Subsequently, the extent to which the components of the activity package needed to be adapted in order to also successfully activate older persons was examined. With the help of live tests and co-creation sessions, an attempt was also made to determine the critical success factors for an activity package specifically aimed at seniors. The input from the older persons, caregivers, local residents, healthcare professionals and organisations, local authorities and facilitating bodies highlighted, among other things, the importance of a holistic approach. After all, getting older people to become more physically acrtive requires more than just creating an exercise-friendly environment (hardware). To reap the benefits of that inviting environment, sufficient attention must also be paid to an adapted offer (software). This must be organised in such a way that potential users are also motivated to actively get involved so that physical activity becomes a natural part of everyday life (orgware). 

The original components of the already existing activity package actually underwent an upgrade in order to evolve into an age-friendly variant. The findings from the research led to the development of the ‘senior’ activity bench and various adjustments to the bundle of associated services.

A final phase of the research tested which aspects should be taken into account in terms of exploitation. The concept was successfully implemented in some practical environments. During this stage of the research, there appeared to be considerable interest from the market and several early adopters actually already proceeded to purchase an activity bench senior. Therefore, as soon as conditions allow and the covid situation in the healthcare sector has stabilised, IPitup will confidently seek to introduce the activity package for older persons to the market on a larger scale. 

For the implementation of the project, IPitup collaborated with the living labs InnovAge in Leuven, LiCalab in Turnhout, Care Innovation Center West-Brabant in Roosendaal and Slimmer Leven in Eindhoven. The project was funded through the CrossCare framework project from the European Interreg Flanders-Netherlands programme (www.grensregion.eu). Interreg Flanders-Netherlands promotes cross-border projects for smart, green and inclusive growth, from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 

Below you will find the full research report, a summary infographic as well as additional info on the activity bank senior (now called Activity Bench Plus) and the CrossCare pathway.

More info? Contact us at info@ipitup.be.