PhD Student: Alexandra Munns; Partner: St Andrews Healthcare; Supervisors: Dr. Katrien Segaert and Prof. Samuel Lucas; School: School of Psychology.
The project will examine how to best increase physical activity levels among frail older adults. Regular physical exercise has been shown to attenuate age-related physiological decline, reduce disease risk, improve cognition and brain health, and improve quality of life. However, a significant proportion of older adults fail to meet the minimum recommended levels of physical activity. The WHO recommends supporting guidance and implementation tools focused on those who need physical activity the most, including frail older adults, and highlights the importance of strong healthcare, community, and policymaker partnerships to achieve this. The present PhD studentship project aims to follow these recommendations, in a partnership between the University of Birmingham and St Andrew’s Healthcare.
Specifically, the project will involve long-term well-being and cognitive and brain health (i.e.vascular health) measures of healthy community-dwelling older adults. In addition, it will involve the development and implementation of an exercise intervention in an inpatient facility of St Andrew’s, with older adults who are frail and with greater functional/physical impairments than community-dwelling older adults. The efficacy of the intervention will be published through questionnaires, mental health, and cognitive health assessments.