Agape Pilots

Italy
Romania
Portugal

Italy

Pilot partner organisation

Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS (FDG)

Users involved

  1. Primary users: 50 Older adults, ≥ 65 years old, with the ability to provide informed consent and a frailty score from 3 (well) to 5 (moderately frail), without cognitive impairments, serious comorbidity, tumours or other disease.
  2. Secondary users: 17 Informal caregivers (older adults’ relatives).
  3. Secondary users: 25 Formal caregivers (nurses, home care assistants, geriatricians).
  4. Tertiary users: 2 Care organizations (local authorities, municipalities).

Aim of the pilot

Evaluate the implementation of the Agape services platform in daily life:

  1. establish whether the Agape services platform is able to stimulate the innovation adoption by the end users, following the older adults‘ activities;
  2. evaluate the effect of the coaching on the ageing people compliance to the Agape platform.

PI: Prof. Francesca Cecchi; Serena Malloggi; Marta Cannobbio; Chiara Pedrini; Samuele Pinna.

FDG is a no-profit organization committed to respond to the health and care needs of frail people, offering interdisciplinary care and rehabilitation services. FDG has a scientific expertise about tele-rehabilitation and robotic and electromechanical devices for rehabilitation and telemedicine in elderly patients.

You can find more information on our website https://www.dongnocchi.it/

Romania

Pilot partner organisation

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania (UMFCD)

Users involved

  1. Primary users: 60 Older adults, ≥ 65 years old, with the ability to provide informed consent and a frailty score from 3 (well) to 5 (moderately frail), without cognitive impairments, serious comorbidity, severe disabilities.
  2. Secondary users: 25 Informal caregivers (older adults’ relatives).
  3. Secondary users: 20 Formal caregivers (nurses, home care assistants, geriatricians).
  4. Tertiary users: 2 Care organizations (local authorities, municipalities).

Aim of the pilot

Evaluate the implementation of the Agape services in daily life and the impact of this on the quality of life and on the digital skills of the users:

  1. establish whether the use of Agape services and platform can improve the level of innovation adoption for the end users;
  2. evaluate the effect of the coaching strategies developed for AGAPE on the user’s compliance to the Agape platform.

PI: Prof. Mihai Berteanu; Ileana Ciobanu; Matei Teodorescu; Alina Iliescu; Andreea Marin.

“Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy is the oldest state-run health sciences university in Bucharest, Romania. It grew over time into a big organisation, with 1.654 teachers and over 4.800 students nowadays. The University uses the facilities of over 20 clinical hospitals all over Bucharest.

UMFCD research team involved in AGAPE Project is the Discipline of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine based in “Elias” University Emergency Hospital. “Elias” Emergency University Hospital runs under the tutelage of the Romanian Academy. In the beginning, in 1936, the hospital had only 3 clinical departments (internal medicine with 150 beds, ambulatory, sanatorium with 48 beds) and staff housing, also a Physical therapy department (electrotherapy, hydrotherapy and kinetotherapy) and 9 labs. Elias University Hospital includes now: 21 clinical departments, 8 paraclinical departments, 24 specialties in ambulatory department and external departments: a geriatrics department in Otopeni (30 beds) and a balneary sanatorium in Olanesti (170 beds). With almost 900 beds, Elias University Emergency Hospital treats about 45000 patients per year (in and out-patients as well).

The clinical, educational and research activities of the UMFCD Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Discipline in Elias Hospital takes place into The Neurological Rehabilitation Department of the hospital. Established in 2003 by the actual academic team, it has 35 beds and also serves outpatients, treating more than 2000 patients per year. Since 2008, the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine has been a European Board-Certified Training Centre for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine physicians. Available infrastructure include a Cognitive Evaluation, Stimulation, Training and Rehabilitation Lab, Occupational Therapy Lab, Robotic Rehabilitation Lab, Gait Analysis Lab, Neurophysiology Lab: Nerve Conduction Velocity Electromyography, Biofeedback, Musculo-Skeletal Ultrasound Lab, Repetitive Magnetic Stimulation Lab, Equipment for Therapeutic Exercise and Physical Modalities.

Focused on preventing and reducing disabilities in neurological conditions, we also address musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory rehabilitation. Many of our neurological patients are older and present different degrees of cognitive impairment, affecting one or more cognitive domains.

Research and co-creation activities in AGAPE will involve lab-based activities, conducted in the Occupational Therapy Laboratory and field-based activities conducted with in and out-patients, healthcare professionals and family caregivers, along with dedicated AGAPE coaches.

You can find more information on the related websites:

UMFCD – the Discipline of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine – Elias Hospital – research page: https://umfcd.ro/educatie/facultati-si-resurse/facultatea-de-medicina/facultatea-de-medicina-departament-9-medicina-fizica-si-de-reabilitare/disciplina-medicina-fizica-si-de-reabilitare-spitalul-universitar-de-urgenta-elias/

Neurological Rehabilitation Department in Elias Hospital: http://spitalul-elias.ro/clinici-sectii/recuperare-medicina-fizica-si-balneologie/

Romanian National Funding Agency for RDI: https://uefiscdi.gov.ro/#

Portugal

Pilot partner organisation

Cáritas Coimbra (CDC), Coimbra, Portugal

Users involved

  1. Primary users: 35 Older adults, ≥ 65 years old, with the ability to provide informed consent and a frailty score from 3 (well) to 5 (moderately frail), without cognitive impairments, serious comorbidity, tumours or other disease.
  2. Secondary users: Informal caregivers (older adults’ relatives/ family members);
  3. Secondary users: Formal caregivers (social care workers, home care assistants and other caregiver workforce);
  4. Tertiary users: (Technical directors of CDC Day care centres in the region of Coimbra).

Aim of the pilot

Evaluate the implementation of the Agape services platform in daily life: 

  1. assess whether the Agape ecosystem is able to put in place and take advantage of the innovation adoption approach, while improving older adults’ overall well-being, socialization and digital (health) literacy; 
  2. ensure continuous and personalised coaching on the ageing people in conformity with the three overall project goals.

Bruna Franceschini, Ângela Pinto, Elisabete Pitarma

Cáritas Coimbra (CDC) is a social non-profit organisation (NGO) that supports people and communities in five districts of the Central Region of Portugal. It has nearly 90 centres (with 126 different services), 1000 workers and supports around 14000 people/year with social, health, education, and pastoral care. Regarding the support to older adults in specific, Cáritas Coimbra offers 11 day care centres, 18 home care services, 5 nursing homes, 1 chronic disability impairment home, 2 long-term care units, and 1 physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic.