Unique consortium investigates effectiveness and implementation of functional training programme

Gezondheid en zorg
Health and Care

Unique consortium investigates effectiveness and implementation of functional training programme for frail elderly people living at home in large TBM study

Uniek consortium onderzoekt effectiviteit en implementatie van functioneel trainingsprogramma voor kwetsbare thuiswonende ouderen in grote TBM-studie

Not all years of life in later life are healthy years of life. The population is getting older on average but still faces a loss of muscle strength, chronic conditions or geriatric syndromes such as frailty or 'frailty'. Besides a lower quality of life for the elderly themselves, frailty also means an additional social cost of €1,500 to €5,000 per elderly person per year.

With physical activity, this frailty can be delayed or even reversed. The functional training programme ACTIVE-AGE@home responds to this perfectly and trains elderly people in their own home environment on all relevant aspects that increase frailty, such as muscle strength, balance and endurance, but also cognitive activity, coordination and ADL activities.

The training programme was developed by researchers and students of Arteveldehogeschool thanks to intensive cooperation between the Care and Health Expertise Domain and the Education Expertise Network (Department of Physical Education and Movement Recreation). An extensive network of research institutions and work field partners ensured a widely supported and thoroughly thought-out intervention. In the current phase, Arteveldehogeschool, VUB, UGent, UAntwerp, Odisee and UZ Brussel are collaborating in a four-year Applied Biomedical Research project (2022-2026), subsidised by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen.

Questions? Contact

Dimitri Vrancken
Prof. Dr. Patricia De Vriendt


More info on this research