Reference no: EM133255441

A government report has identified a need to enhance outcomes for older adults in the community. The report highlighted relationships between physical, cognitive andp sychosocial functioning. As a result, funds are now available to run intervention programs that will facilitate successful ageing. The guidelines specify that the proposed interventionm ust have an evidence base and it must be targeted at improving outcomes for adults aged over 50 years. The outcome needs to be specific - applications that say their intervention will 'facilitate successful ageing' without specific details of an outcome will notb e funded. Apart from this, the brief is broad: the intervention can focus on older adultsg enerally or it can focus on a particular subgroup. The expected outcome of the intervention could be immediate or it could impact over a longer period of time. Them aximum amount of time the intervention can run is six months.

A call has now gone out for preliminary applications for funding for small-medium size project funded between $40,000 and $100,000 - if applicants are successful in thep reliminary round they will be invited to submit a longer, more detailed proposal that includes staffing, budget, and specific details of what the intervention activities.

Your task

You will be submitting an application for funding as part of the preliminary round where you will communicate what you want to do, why you want to do it and what you expect to achieve. This means you will be required to introduce and justify your request: providing an overview of the outcomes and the variables you are targeting and why, as well as brief details on what your intervention would involve. You will ground the justification for the intervention in psychological research, citing evidence from studies that will convince the funding body of the merit of your proposal.

Note: You will not be required to complete the longer more detailed application form so will not need to provide details of your team, or budget.

An example of an intervention could be to provide a group exercise class for older, socially isolated men who have heart disease, in order to reduce their depressive symptoms and increase fitness. There is evidence that older, socially isolated men have high rates of depression, and that the intervention - exercise - reduces depressive symptoms and improves physical wellbeing in older adults generally. You should cite a study that demonstrates that this intervention is likely be effective in socially isolated men with heart disease. The group activity component also provides an opportunity for social support and will likely facilitate ongoing engagement by the men.

Directions

Decide what aspect of older adults functioning or experience you want to have an impact on?

This will be the outcome of your intervention - it could be an aspect of physical, cognitive, or psychosocial well-being - or a combination of these outcomes. You will need to be specific about the outcome - 'enhancing successful ageing' is too broad but 'reducing depressive symptoms and improving psychological wellbeing' or 'reducing risk of cognitive decline' are fine.

Decide on a target group - it can be older adults generally or a subgroup - for example, socially isolated adults with heart disease or a specific cultural group.

Identify the variable that will be the target of your intervention - for example, a form of exercise. There should be an evidence base to show that the variable you are targeting is related to the outcome (or outcomes) you are focused on - part of this evidence should give
details of an intervention study that someone else has published that is relevant to your case.

1. Provide Succinct summary that clearly indicates focus and outcomes of intervention.

2. Lay Summary

Provide a summary of your proposal in plain English, that could be used for media or communication to the general public

3. Justification:

To justify your funding request, provide an overview that includes references from at least 4 peer reviewed academic papers (other reputable sources can be included on top of these ) that will enable the selection committee to judge the evidence base and merit of your proposal: Steps:

• Introduce the area you are focusing on, clarify the focus of your intervention, the outcome you are addressing and why the outcome is important based on up-to-date, objective data.

• Provide evidence for a link between the intervention variable and the outcome, using research studies.

• Include an intervention study that has been conducted on the topic or, if this is nota vailable on a closely aligned topic that would support the usefulness/likely success of your intervention.

4. Overview of proposed intervention:

Provide an overview of what you are proposing to do making it clear:

• Who the target group is and what the intervention will involve

• Provide comments on at least one safety and one ethical issue to be addressed.