Active Lifestyle Programs for Healthy Ageing

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The ageing population is faced with many lifestyle-associated conditions, which can be prevented or delayed by engaging in healthy behaviours. Even where people are ageing with chronic conditions and disabilities it is possible to maintain capacity for longer. Adopting active and healthy lifestyles is challenging for many older people, especially when combined with comorbidities and socioeconomic disadvantage.

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Competitive advantage

Development of several technology-driven self-managed exercise programs, using remote monitoring, accurate targeting of at-risk individuals and increased personalisation to suit individual abilities and lifestyles. End-users are involved through co-design at all stages of research to ensure that programs support a diversity of abilities, preferences and cultural backgrounds.

Impact

Market ready, scalable interventions and products have been designed to improve age-related health outcomes and quality of life for older people in Australia and beyond. The focus on self-management and remote monitoring has particular benefit to the many older people living in rural and remote Australia, where access to healthcare services is limited. By making effective programs accessible, all older Australians should have access to effective and affordable health services.

Successful outcomes

The internationally recognised StandingTall program uses mobile technology (mHealth) to increase engagement and compliance to exercise programs. It enables individuals to self-manage their health and assists clinicians to monitor their patients remotely. Standing Tall is being implemented as a community fall prevention program in NSW and Northern England (UK); and as an outpatient hospital program in Austin Health (Melbourne).