Clinical Research Directory
Browse clinical research sites, groups, and studies.
A Pilot Study to Explore the Feasibility of Navigator and Coach Support for Community Participation by Older People
Sponsor: Bastiaan Van Grootven
Summary
Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome in which a person accumulates age-related deficits across life domains, increasingly including social components such as social isolation. An estimated 12% of the Swiss population aged 65+ is frail and a further 46% pre-frail; without prevention, about two thirds of pre-frail persons will become frail, with major consequences for disability, hospitalisation, mortality, quality of life and health costs. Meta-analyses identify physical activity as the most promising prevention strategy, yet structured mechanisms connecting older adults with existing community activities remain underdeveloped and fragmented. To close this implementation gap, the ENGAGE implementation project co-designed a community participation support pathway with local stakeholders: older adults with low physical and/or social activity are systematically identified during routine contacts, a values-based conversation clarifies what matters to the person, the person is matched and referred to existing community activities, and a navigator (a social work professional acting as link worker) provides behavioural, practical and emotional support for initial and continued participation. Because there are uncertainties in the delivery of the study and intervention, a pilot study with a pragmatic randomised trial design is implemented.
Official title: A Randomised Pilot Study of Navigator and Coach Support for Participation in Community Activities to Promote Physical Activity and Social Contact in Persons Aged 65 Years and Older
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
65 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
45
Start Date
2026-10-01
Completion Date
2028-09-30
Last Updated
2026-09-23
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Interventions
Navigation support
The navigator conducts a needs assessment and support an older person in finding and attending an appropriate community activities/services. They can offer a brief and limited set of behavioral change techniques (such as information about health consequences, goal setting, action planning, and discussing barriers) to support attendance and provide follow-up.
Coaching support
Coaching will follow-up on the initial navigation support (e.g., needs elicitation, activity matching, goal setting, action planning), and will include a more intensive behavioural support. This will be based on motivational interviewing, which is used to conduct a live behavioural diangnosis using the COM-B model, and subsequent selection of one or more appropriate behavioural change techniques, individualised to the participant.
Locations (1)
Institute of Nursing Science
Basel, Switzerland