Livewell
The LIVEWELL Programme is a multi-disciplinary collaboration based in Newcastle University and funded by the UK Research Councils and Health Departments through the Lifelong Health & Wellbeing (LLHW) initiative. The programme aims to develop and pilot an integrated suite of life-style based interventions to promote health and well-being in later life.
There is very good evidence indicating that behavioural factors (smoking, diet, alcohol consumption, physical activity) and social conditions are strongly associated with health and wellbeing in later life. However, there is very little evidence of practical interventions that can promote improved health and wellbeing in later life.
The LIVEWELL Programme is designed to address this research gap by developing interventions that are expected to be feasible, effective, and cost effective, i.e. behavioural and social changes that can be incorporated into everyday life.
In addition, we will identify tools to characterise and measure the healthy ageing phenotype (HAP) which represents the highly preserved physical, physiological and cognitive functions, allowing an individual to withstand the negative impact from diverse environmental factors on health and the ageing process.
Focusing on the ‘retirement window’ i.e. the period before and after the retirement of the individual, we will develop interventions which will address each of the main behavioural and social factors which are likely to be modifiable. This will include novel interventions in the areas of diet, physical activity and social interactions.
We will integrate these new interventions with more established interventions on smoking cessation and moderation in alcohol consumption to develop a package which can be tailored to the needs of individuals and communities.
Furthermore, we will develop novel ways of delivering these which will be feasible and cost-effective and which will encourage sustained behaviour change and improved social circumstances.
Further information
For more information please visit: http://www.livewell.ac.uk