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Nurse's research to help older people live healthier lives

People may be living longer, but they are not necessarily living healthier, says a leading nurse who has begun a research fellowship into older people with frailty.

People may be living longer, but they are not necessarily living healthier, says a leading nurse who has begun a research fellowship into older people with frailty


Helen Lyndon will carry out a study aimed at improving the use of 
nurse-led intervention for healthier lifestyles in older people

Helen Lyndon has started a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) clinical doctoral research fellowship at the University of Plymouth.

The fellowship will see Ms Lyndon, who works for the Cornwall Foundation NHS Trust, conduct a feasibility study aimed at developing, implementing and testing a nurse-led intervention to improve healthy living in older people with frailty.

Four-year research study

Known as the HAPPI study – holistic assessment and care planning in partnership intervention – the research will take place over four years, and is supervised by academics in the university’s faculty of health and human sciences. 

Ms Lyndon recently completed a two-year secondment as the clinical lead for frailty with NHS England, and has spent the majority of her career in community primary care or home settings, with a particular interest in supporting older people with long-term conditions. 

She also helped develop the RCN's frailty resource collection.

Ms Lyndon said: 'The intervention I’m developing will ask the question "what can we do better?" to help older people live healthier lives. It focuses on supporting older people living with frailty in a primary care setting – meaning a community nurse could utilise the intervention straight away. 

The best possible care

'It’s great that people are living longer, but research shows that this does not necessarily mean they’re living a healthy life – and I’m keen to help nurses and health professionals to ensure that older people living with frailty have the best quality of life possible.'

The work will see Ms Lyndon collect qualitative data to develop and refine the intervention, carrying out a randomised control trial to test the intervention’s feasibility, and gain feedback from patients and clinicians on its effectiveness. 


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