The project: “Active Moves” – developing a community-based exercise initiative to keep older people fit and healthy while combatting loneliness and isolation
Royal Voluntary Service is a volunteer organisation that enriches the lives of older people and their families across Britain. The Active Moves initiative aims to improve the wellbeing of frail, older people by encouraging active ageing among the elderly.
Leading this project involved collaborating and forging partnerships with multiple stakeholders – including award-winning social enterprise Move It or Lose It! – and getting buy-in from local hubs and communities. It included developing the strategy, designing the business model and operational framework through workshops and dialogues with both internal and external stakeholders, and setting up the pilot in four locations. A measurement framework was developed and key outcomes and metrics identified to determine impact.
The Impact: Six months into the pilot, initial findings show Active Moves having positive impact on older people. Participants of the pilot show considerable improvement in three of the four measures collected and that there appears to be an association between improvements in physical function and wellbeing/loneliness scores. Given these results, Royal Voluntary Service are looking to scale up this programme and develop this as part of their core service offer to both older people and health providers – e.g. Trusts, CCGs, and Falls Teams.