The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked by the Department of Health (DH) to develop public health guidance on Independence and mental wellbeing (including social and emotional wellbeing) for older people.

A series of evidence reviews and an economic analysis are being conducted to address the questions that are set out in the scope. Please see:

Older people: independence and mental wellbeing - final scope.

Please note that the guidance will not consider older people who live in a care home or attend one on a day-only basis as well as one-to-one interactions between older people and health or care professionals.

We are interested in a range of evidence relevant to this guidance including:

More specifically, we seek information to inform evidence review on the questions outlined below.

1. What are the most effective and cost effective ways to improve or protect the mental wellbeing and/or independence of older people? This may include consideration of the following subsidiary questions:

a. What information is needed by, or available to, those responsible for services for older people?

b. What is the role of services (such as facilitating access to education, leisure and community activities; transport; care support in the home), and technologies (such as alarm systems, electronic communication and information systems) in improving or protecting the mental wellbeing and independence of older people?

c. Are some interventions more effective for some target groups than others? Distinctions to explore could include those between:

• Older people, their family, communities and providers of services (health and social care professionals as well as other people working with older people) OR
• People who are aged 55 and over who are aging prematurely and are at risk of the same physical and mental conditions as people aged 65 and over OR
• Groups within those who are older people, including those subject to inequalities, the ‘older old’ (aged 80 years or more), those with health conditions and from particular cultural, faith or BME groups.

d.  What is the role of interventions to raise awareness of the importance of older peoples’ mental wellbeing and independence among professionals, older people, their carers, family, volunteers and the wider community?

• Interventions may also help tackle ageism and encourage cross generational respect.

e. How may older people who are at risk of a decline in or have poor mental wellbeing and/or independence be identified within a community?

2. What are barriers and facilitators to assessing suitability for and uptake of and continuance with interventions or services to improve or protect the mental wellbeing and/or independence of older people?

a. How do barriers and facilitators vary for some target groups, such as those who are subject to inequalities?

3. What services or activities are in use in UK practice to improve or protect the mental wellbeing or independence of older people?

An economic analysis of the cost effectiveness of interventions to improve or protect mental independence or wellbeing for older people has also been commissioned.

To support this work, we are particularly interested in data that might help populate an economic model. This includes various costs such as health and social care costs, service use, productivity and civic engagement costs as well as the costs to the individual and other sectors including business of taking part in an intervention. It could also include practice level data on the provision and cost of training relating to identifying those at risk, referring to services or providing the intervention including additional costs of encouraging uptake of services, particularly among disadvantaged groups.

Research on mapping state specific outcome measures onto utility measures would also be of interest.

We are interested in identifying UK-based evaluations (ranging from published trials to unpublished case studies) or practice descriptions that have been completed in the last 5 years or any ongoing research that is being conducted in the UK that relates to the questions outlined above. We are interested in a broad range of different types of evidence. It may be quantitative or qualitative research. The studies may be published in journals, texts or monographs or be in the grey literature.

In addition other examples include ongoing research, any new technology, studies that have been published only as abstracts, data on adverse effects, economic models, and studies of the experiences of patients, carers or healthcare professionals.

Equalities

We are particularly interested in evidence that may help to better promote equality of opportunity relating to age, disability, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion and belief, sexual orientation or socio-economic status. Subgroups that may be missed by conventional services are of particular interest.

NICE cannot accept

Please note that the following material is not eligible for consideration:

• Promotional material.
• Unsubstantiated or non-evidence-based assertions of effectiveness.
• Opinion pieces.
• Electronic attachments or hard copies of published material.

Published material

Please send either full reference details (including author/s, title, date and journal and volume and issue number and page numbers, if available) using this form by 5:00 pm 25 April 2014) Olderpeoplementalwellbeing@nice.nhs.uk .

Please note – NICE can only accept references to published material - do not attach or provide hard copies of published material.

Unpublished material

We realise that you may wish to submit relevant unpublished data or studies.

We can accept links, electronic attachments or hard copies of unpublished ‘grey’ literature such as service evaluations or descriptions of practice.

Please refer to summary below or section 4.4 of the Process Manual for development of public health guidance for information on submissions of confidential material

Ongoing research

If you are aware of studies/ongoing research relevant to our questions which are in progress please could you help us to identify that information by providing relevant information such as a link to a registered trial and/or the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL):

http://www.cochrane.org/editorial-and-publishing-policy-resource/cochrane-central-register-controlled-trials-central

Confidential information

If you wish to submit material that is ‘academic in confidence’ (such as a pre-publication manuscript) or ‘commercial in confidence’ (such as documentation for an internal audience), you must highlight which sections of your submission are confidential by using a highlighter pen on hard copy or the highlighter function of your text editor/viewer application for electronic submissions.

Please send details of relevant unpublished evidence using this form by 5:00 pm 25 April 2014) Olderpeoplementalwellbeing@nice.nhs.uk.  Alternatively, send completed forms (with hard copy of unpublished evidence, if applicable) to:

D. Jarrett

Project Coordinator - Centre for Public Health

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Level 1A

City Tower

Piccadilly Plaza

Manchester

M1 4BT

United Kingdom

We look forward to receiving your response to this call for evidence.

Thank you in advance for your important contribution to this guidance.