Research Group in Ageing and Health (GREiS)

This group which belongs to the Foundation for Health and Ageing of the UAB was accredited by AGAUR as an emerging research group. The main objective of our group is to define how to: prevent disability and promote quality of life within a framework of active and healthy ageing. This objective is carried out through 3 areas of knowledge each containing different lines of research and strategic objectives.

The group is made up of a transdisciplinary group which reflects the cross-disciplinary view of ageing which guides our activities. Participation by each member is dependent on each area of knowledge.

Care quality and handling of geriatric syndromes: falls, fragility, malnutrition, sarcopenia, cognitive impairment:

1. Promotion of the intrinsic capacity of elderly people (APTITUDE).
2. Evaluation of the different levels of intrinsic capacity in elderly people (APTITUDE).
3. Interrelationship between fragility, nutritional state and body composition (ELLI).
4. Interrelationship between fragility and walking problems (FRAPEM, SITLESS).
5. Impact of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of fragility and sarcopenia (FRAPEM, ELLI, SITLESS).
6. Prevention of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease in healthy elderly people (LO MAPT) .
7. Prevention of cognitive impairment and the reduction of symptoms from the moment of diagnosis in people with cognitive impairment and dementia (REMI, INNOBRAIN).
8. Interrelationship between fragility and cognitive problems and mood (FRAPEM).
    

1. Fragility screening in primary health care (APTITUDE).
2. Development, implementation and evaluation of the national strategy for the prevention of disability is fragile elderly people (APTITUDE).
3. Improvement in processes and results in long-term care services (XARESS, SUMAR).

1. Strategies for the promotion of self-care to reduce unhealthy behaviours (SITLESS).
2. The role of physical activity and sedentary behaviour on the level of functioning and the quality of life (SITLESS).
3. Information and communication technologies for self-care (NESTORE).
4. Community interventions for the promotion of physical, psychological and social wellbeing (AEQUALIS, CAMINS).

The GREiS carries out its activities bearing in mind the following principles related to includes of the RRI perspective (gender, public participation, open access, ethics and governance) in the conception, start and continuation of the activity and the transfer of the groups research results and actions of scientific dissemination. 

Gender

Ageing is a process that is highly affected by gender. For example, women are the majority of the elderly population and men have more difficulties participating in certain research activities. On the other hand gender roles among elderly people are highly differentiated in our cultural context. We therefore take into account the gender perspective when designing our projects, designing interventions, the scope of our interventions and the dissemination of our activities and the composition of our teams.

Public participation

We propose the inclusion of the view of patients, carers and the public in relation to health and healthcare, considering the importance of the increase in their empowerment in their own self-care and quality of life.
Similarly, we work with different professionals to create new quality standards with more effective, people-centred interventions.

Open access

In the European H2020 projects, (SITLESS  and NESTORE) publication in open access journals is obligatory.

Ethics

We work with elderly people, considered to be a vulnerable part of the population and therefore it is especially importance to carefully considered the ethical implications of our research and our actions.

We submit our research to an ethics committee to obtain their approval before beginning any project. We used informed consent in all our projects.

We have a data protection policy in accordance with current standards and regulations.

Governance

We would like to highlight the importance of developing mechanisms for the effective involvement of health and social services professionals in drawing up policies and the management of organisations, as well as in the development and evaluation of tools to promote the instruments of governance, participation and dialogue to become effective elements for participation with the public and health and social services professionals in the definition and review of the catalogue of services, the organisation of the system and the prioritisation of the objectives and resources to attend to the needs of the public.

To improve the governance of our research throughout the organisation, we aim to establish an institutional review board in the near future with a political and professional remit related to our fields of research (health, social work, etc), elderly people and patients’ association and other groups of interest.