Grant: Catalyst Grant: eHealth Innovations - Aging

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to a group of factors (high cholesterol, sugars, and blood pressure, and being overweight) that increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and their complications. In Canada, 40% of older adults have metabolic syndrome. People with MetS have been shown to have double the annual health care costs and higher frequency of services than those without MetS. The high rate of MetS, along with an aging population translates into enormous financial burden for health systems, patients and families. Progression of MetS to diabetes and heart disease can be significantly reduced by change in diet and exercise. Unfortunately, applying the research related to lifestyle interventions has been low amongst family doctors. This is due to various challenges such as lack of time, resources, and training amongst family doctors. Canadian Health Advanced by Nutrition and Graded Exercise (CHANGE) developed a program that builds upon previous diet and exercise research. This program can be delivered by a team of health professionals (dietitian, kinesiologist and family physician) within a primary care setting. The CHANGE intervention overcomes the challenges found in primary care by providing a program that seniors can easily access when visiting their family doctor. A demonstration project has shown the CHANGE program can be implemented within primary care settings with positive results. One important challenge for the generalizability of the CHANGE intervention is access to dietitians and kinesiologists in rural or remote locations. Using e- Health technology solutions can overcome these barriers to access. To maximize the uptake of the CHANGE concept, it is essential that we evaluate whether these technologies can be cost effective methods of increase access to effective lifestyle interventions.