Research examines exercise in nursing homes

News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment

01 February 2008

New research commissioned by the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme, a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), is assessing the effectiveness of a group exercise programme combined with staff training, for reducing depression in older people living in residential and nursing homes. Up to 40 percent of residents in these homes suffer from depression. Increasing both exercise and social interaction may help reduce the burden of depression, but this is yet to be fully researched.

Researchers based at the Warwick Medical School Clinical Trial Unit and Queen Mary University of London and will examine the effectiveness of a ‘whole home’ intervention, which comprises twice weekly group exercise sessions delivered by a physiotherapist, combined with staff training in depression awareness. The 77 participating homes in central England and north east London will receive either the ‘whole home’ intervention of exercise sessions and staff training in depression awareness or just staff training.

Researchers will determine whether exercise reduces the overall number of people with depression in a care home, after 12 months, and will also examine whether individual people who are already depressed respond to exercise. They will also examine the effect of the exercise programme on participants’ physical fitness, mental agility, the amount of pain they have, number of fractures, hospital admissions, and the use of medication.

“Many older people living in residential and nursing homes suffer from depression. This can have a major impact on the quality of life of a very vulnerable group. It is often not recognised by their carers, and even when recognised treatment can be difficult,” says lead researcher Professor Martin Underwood of Warwick Medical School. “A group exercise programme that includes a social element is a promising approach to managing depression without the use of drugs. We hope that this research will help improve the delivery of future services in residential and nursing homes.”

For more information about this project visit www.hta.ac.uk/1618

Notes for editors


  1. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2006 Impact Factor (5.29) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
  2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

Contact details

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk

Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk

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