BITE-IT

The development and evaluation of a combined exercise and nutrition intervention for vulnerable elderly people.

In the Netherlands, 53,000 vulnerable elderly people are admitted to a geriatric rehabilitation centre for a short period each year. For example, when they are recovering from a bone or joint fracture, stroke or orthopaedic surgery. Upon returning home, their rehabilitation is often scaled down and taken over by an outpatient care programme or primary care. A large proportion of these vulnerable elderly people experience a decline in physical functioning and self-reliance at home. They benefit from intensive care in the areas of nutrition and exercise. A blended intervention offers opportunities: a combination of online and face-to-face guidance, focused on healthy exercise and nutritional behaviour. However, such an intervention requires a tailored approach. The BITE-IT project team is therefore developing a blended nutrition and exercise programme for elderly people recovering at home. This research is being conducted by Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Aim

The aim of this study is to support elderly people undergoing rehabilitation and their practitioners in optimising physical functioning in the home environment. To this end, researchers are developing and testing a blended nutrition and exercise programme in practice.

Outpatient and primary care dieticians, physiotherapists and exercise therapists consider blended care to be promising. Unfortunately, little is known about which ingredients of blended care do and do not work. We are conducting research into this. This is essential because blended care is also being used more and more often in everyday practice.

Project objectives

In various co-creation sessions, the project team explores user needs, acceptance, technical and content requirements for a blended nutrition and exercise programme with elderly people, healthcare professionals and ICT professionals. In consultation with future users, researchers develop the blended BITE-IT intervention based on an existing platform. In doing so, they also look at the use of existing and successful applications. Researchers are extensively testing the BITE-IT intervention for feasibility and effectiveness in practice.

The expected results and products are:

Knowledge about how healthcare professionals can use blended care for elderly people rehabilitating at home.
A blended rehabilitation programme for dieticians, physiotherapists and exercise therapists.
Insight into the feasibility and initial effectiveness of the developed blended rehabilitation programme.