Promoting social capital, self-management and health literacy in older adults through a group-based intervention delivered in low-income urban areas : results of the randomized trial AEQUALIS
Blancafort Alias, Sergi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Fundació Salut i Envelliment)
Monteserín Nadal, Rosa (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Moral Peláez, Irene (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Roqué i Figuls, Marta (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Fundació Salut i Envelliment)
Rojano i Luque, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Fundació Salut i Envelliment)
Coll-Planas, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Fundació Salut i Envelliment)

Date:	2021
Abstract:	Background: Evidence is scarce on how to promote health and decrease cumulative inequalities for disadvantaged older people. Downstream complex interventions focusing on intermediate factors (self-management, health literacy and social capital) may have the potential to mitigate the inequitable impacts of social determinants in health. The aim of the AEQUALIS study was to assess the effectiveness of a group-based intervention to improve self-perceived health as indicator of health inequality. Methods: Pragmatic randomised clinical trial addressed to older adults (≥ 60 years) living in urban disadvantaged areas with low self-perceived health. The intervention was delivered in primary care settings and community assets between 2015 and 2017 and consisted in 12 weekly sessions. The primary outcome was self-perceived health assessed in two ways: with the first item of the SF-12 questionnaire, and with the EQ-5D visual analog scale. Secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life, social capital, self-management, mental health and use of health services. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post intervention and follow-up at 9 months after the end of the intervention. Results: 390 people were allocated to the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG) and 194 participants and 164 were included in the data analysis, respectively. Self perceived health as primary outcome assessed with SF-12-1 was not specifically affected by the intervention, but with the EQ-5D visual analog scale showed a significant increase at one-year follow-up only in the IG (MD=4. 80, 95%CI [1. 09, 8. 52]). IG group improved health literacy in terms of a better understanding of medical information (− 0. 62 [− 1. 10, − 0. 13]). The mental component of SF-12 improved (3. 77 [1. 82, 5. 73]), and depressive symptoms decreased at post-intervention (− 1. 26 [− 1. 90, − 0. 63]), and at follow-up (− 0. 95 [− 1. 62, − 0. 27]). The use of antidepressants increased in CG at the follow-up (1. 59 [0. 33, 2. 86]), while it remained stable in the IG. Conclusions: This study indicates that a group intervention with a strong social component, conducted in primary health care and community assets, shows promising effects on mental health and can be used as a strategy for health promotion among older adults in urban disadvantaged areas. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials. gov, NCT02733523. Registered 11 April 2016 - Retrospectively registered.
Note:	Altres ajuts: Recercaixa (2014ACUP00207)
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Social medicine ; Public health ; Primary health care ; Healthcare disparities ; Aging ; Self-management ; Health literacy ; Social capital
Published in:	BMC public health, Vol. 21 Núm. 1 (december 2021) , p. 84, ISSN 1471-2458

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-10094-9
PMID: 33413233

12 p, 1007.6 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Fundació Salut i Envelliment UAB
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles