Participant Information
We are looking for 515 people 65 years or older, from Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester or Cardiff to take part in the study. We are looking for people who have some difficulty doing daily activities such as walking, getting out of a chair, and climbing stairs to take part in the research.
What will I need to do to take part?
If you take part in the ACE study, we will ask you to do:
Wear a small movement monitor (similar size and shape to a watch) on your wrist for 16 days so we can measure how active you are.
Spend some time with us talking about your everyday life, your health and your wellbeing.
Measure your height, weight and grip strength
Complete three physical function tests:
Walking for just 4 metres,
some balance tests, and
sitting in a chair then standing up.
These tests are called the Short Physical Performance Battery or SPPB tests.
We will ask you to repeat these tasks three times, at the beginning of the study, again at 6 months and for the last time at 18 months. After 12 months we will send you a short questionnaire to complete at home and a movement monitor to wear.
Where will all of this happen?
In order to carry out these measures, our researcher would meet you in a local community centre. If you need it, we can arrange for transport to get you there. Before we do anything, we would ask you to complete a consent form with our researchers so that you know exactly what we are asking you to do and you can confirm if you are happy to go ahead. You will then complete the simple physical function tests and we will show you how to wear the movement monitor and go through the questions with you. We will give you an envelope so that you can send the monitor back to us after a week.
How long will each session take?
Each session should take around 60-75 minutes. We appreciate the time that you are giving up for us and in addition to paying your travelling expenses, we will give you a shopping voucher for £15 at both the 6 and 18-month measurement sessions (after the first measurement session at the start of the study).
Is that it?
Well, not quite. As part of the study, we will randomly allocate our participants to either Group 1 or Group 2. This will be done by a computer, so neither participants nor researchers will be able to decide who goes in each group. If you are in Group 1, you will be partnered with a volunteer. With your consent, we will share a few details with our volunteering organisations (including the Royal Voluntary Service) - your interests, hobbies, and the languages you speak. This will help them to pair you with a volunteer with similar interests. You will be asked to meet your volunteer, choose some local activities you would like to try out and then try them out together. Your volunteer will support you in person and over the phone. If you are in Group 2 you will be given an information pack on healthy ageing and we will invite you to two social events over the course of the study with presentations about ageing well. By having these two groups we can compare the effect of these two different approaches to helping people age well.
Want to find out more?
Does taking part in the ACE study sound interesting? Why not download our participant information sheet to find out more
What to sign up?
That is great. Use our online form to express your interest in joining the ACE study and we will get back to you with more details as soon as we can.