The HOME Study: A study comparing two different ways of looking after older people in hospitals to see if we can improve how quickly they go home

ISRCTN ISRCTN86120296
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN86120296
Secondary identifying numbers 36034
Submission date
03/01/2018
Registration date
12/01/2018
Last edited
12/08/2024
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Other
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English Summary

Background and study aims
NHS general hospitals have more than two million unplanned admissions of people aged 65 and older every year. These patients typically spend more time in hospital than those aged under 65. Long hospital stays are bad for older patients: they can get new illnesses like infections and lose their independence. They are also bad for the NHS which has a shortage of hospital beds. Psychological problems, like dementia, confusion, depression and anxiety, are common in older patients and these are an important cause of long hospital stays. These problems are often not identified in busy hospital wards where the focus is on patients’ physical illnesses. The aim of this study is to find out whether adding a new approach (sometimes called Proactive Liaison Psychiatry) to the identification and management of psychological problems reduces the time that older people spend in acute general hospital wards.

Who can participate?
Patients aged 65 and older who have been admitted to acute wards in hospitals in Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Devon

What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to receive either usual care, or usual care plus the new approach (which involves seeing a doctor, nurse or occupational therapist who specialises in psychological problems in the medically ill). The study looks at whether the new approach reduces the time that patients spend in the hospital and whether it improves their quality of life and independence. Patients, carers and healthcare professionals are also interviewed to learn about their experiences with the new approach.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Taking part involves participants talking with the research team and allowing them access to their information. They may see an additional doctor or nurse who specialises in psychological problems. However, it is not known whether this will help them get home more quickly; that is why this study is happening. The aim of the study is to find out how best to care for patients in the future.

Where is the study run from?
1. John Radcliffe Hospital (UK)
2. Horton Hospital (UK)
3. Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (UK)
4. Addenbrooke’s Hospital (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
April 2017 to October 2022

Who is funding the study?
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Jane Walker, jane.walker@psych.ox.ac.uk (UK)

Study website

Contact information

Dr Jane Walker
Scientific

Psychological Medicine Research Group
University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry
Oxford
OX3 7JX
United Kingdom

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0003-1938-1141

Study information

Study designRandomized complex intervention with qualitative component study
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet ISRCTN86120296_PIS_V2.0_17Oct2017.pdf
Scientific titleThe HOME Study: a study comparing two different ways of looking after older people in hospitals to see if we can improve how quickly they go home
Study acronymThe HOME Study
Study hypothesisNHS general hospitals have more than two million unplanned admissions of people aged 65 and older every year. These patients typically spend more time in hospital than those aged under 65. Long hospital stays are bad for older patients: they can get new illnesses like infections and lose their independence. They are also bad for the NHS which has a shortage of hospital beds. Psychological problems, like dementia, confusion, depression and anxiety, are common in older patients and these are an important cause of long hospital stays. These problems are often not identified in busy hospital wards where the focus is on patients’ physical illnesses.

In this study, the trialists will research whether adding a new approach (sometimes called Proactive Liaison Psychiatry) to the identification and management of psychological problems reduces the time that older people spend in acute general hospital wards.
Ethics approval(s)Approved 02/11/2017, Oxford C REC (Health Research Authority (Bristol), Ground Floor, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, BS1 6PN, Bristol, UK; +44 (0)207 1048144, (0)207 1048241, (0)207 1048289; oxfordc.rec@hra.nhs.uk), ref: 17/SC/0497
ConditionOlder people admitted to hospital
InterventionThe trialists will recruit approximately 3,588 patients aged 65 and older, who have been admitted to acute wards in hospitals in Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Devon. Half of the study participants will get usual NHS care. This means that they will be looked after by doctors, nurses and other staff in the usual way during their hospital stay. The other half will get usual NHS care and they will also see a doctor or nurse who specialises in psychological problems – they will talk to them to find out if they have problems such as worries or confusion that might delay their discharge from hospital and will make a plan to help them with these. The trialists will study whether the new approach reduces the time that patients spend in hospital and whether it improves their quality of life and independence. They will also interview patients, carers and healthcare professionals to learn about their experiences of the new approach.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureNumber of days spent as an inpatient in a general hospital in the month (30 days) post-randomisation; Timepoint(s): 30 days
Secondary outcome measuresCurrent secondary outcome measures as of 17/10/2022:
1. Cognitive function, measured using MOCA-T at 1 and 3 months
2. Independent functioning, measured using Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living at 1 and 3 months
3. Health-related quality of life, measured using EQ-5D-5L at 1 and 3 months
4. Symptoms of anxiety and depression, measured using PHQ-4 at 1 and 3 months
5. Overall quality of life, measured using study-specific item at 1 and 3 months
6. Patient’s experience of hospital stay, measured using study-specific item at 1 month
7. Patient’s view on the length of their hospital stay, measured using study-specific item at 1 month
8. Discharge destination
9. Secondary healthcare use (including total length of index admission, length of index admission truncated at 30 days, number of readmissions, number of days in hospital) in the year post-randomisation
10. Death in the year post-randomisation



Previous secondary outcome measures as of 15/02/2018:
1. Cognitive function, measured using MOCA-T at 1 and 3 months
2. Independent functioning, measured using Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living at 1 and 3 months
3. Health-related quality of life, measured using EQ-5D-5L at 1 and 3 months
4. Symptoms of anxiety and depression, measured using PHQ-4 at 1 and 3 months
5. Overall quality of life, measured using study-specific item at 1 and 3 months
6. Patient’s experience of hospital stay, measured using study-specific item at 1 month
7. Patient’s view on the length of their hospital stay, measured using study-specific item at 1 month
8. Discharge destination
9. Secondary healthcare use (including total length of index admission, number of readmissions, number of days in hospital) in the year post-randomisation
10. Death in the year post-randomisation

Previous secondary outcome measures:
1. Cognitive function, measured using MOCA-T at 1 and 3 months
2. Independent functioning, measured using Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living at 1 and 3 months
3. Health-related quality of life, measured using EQ-5D-5L at 1 and 3 months
4. Symptoms of anxiety and depression, measured using PHQ-4 at 1 and 3 months
5. Overall quality of life, measured using study-specific item at 1 and 3 months
6. Patient’s experience of hospital stay, measured using study-specific item at 1 and 3 months
7. Patient’s view on the length of their hospital stay, measured using study-specific item at 1 and 3 months
8. Discharge destination
9. Secondary healthcare use (including total length of index admission, number of readmissions, number of days in hospital) in the year post-randomisation
10. Death in the year post-randomisation
Overall study start date01/04/2017
Overall study end date31/10/2022

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participantsPlanned Sample Size: 3588; UK Sample Size: 3588
Total final enrolment2744
Participant inclusion criteriaTo be included in the study patients must:
1. Be an inpatient in an acute ward
2. Have been admitted non-electively
3. Be aged 65 or older
4. Be expected (by their clinical team) to remain an inpatient for at least 2 days from the time of baseline assessment
5. Be able to give informed consent or if unable to give consent, a consultee advises that study participation is appropriate
Participant exclusion criteriaPatients will be excluded if:
1. They are moribund (defined as when the clinicians caring for a patient estimate that they are likely to die before discharge from hospital)
2. Their participation in the study is judged to be clinically or practically inappropriate (e.g. patient visiting from overseas)
3. They have already been enrolled in the study
4. They have already been referred to the usual liaison psychiatry team.
5. They have been a general hospital inpatient continuously for 1 week at the time of the baseline assessment
6. They do not read or speak English
Recruitment start date12/02/2018
Recruitment end date05/03/2020

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centres

John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford
OX3 9DU
United Kingdom
Horton Hospital
Banbury
OX16 9AL
United Kingdom
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
Exeter
EX2 5DW
United Kingdom
Addenbrooke’s Hospital
Cambridge
CB2 0QQ
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

University of Oxford
University/education

University of Oxford Research Services
Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Joint Research Office, Block 60, Churchill Hospital
Oxford
OX3 7LE
England
United Kingdom

ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/052gg0110

Funders

Funder type

Government

NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Co-ordinating Centre (NETSCC); Grant Codes: 15/11/16

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date31/12/2024
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot expected to be made available
Publication and dissemination planProtocol will be published on the NIHR website and in a journal. Planned publication of study results in a high-impact peer reviewed journal.
IPD sharing planCurrent IPD sharing statement as of 30/03/2023:
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available because these include identifiable information and, under the terms of our agreement with NHS Digital, the use of these data is restricted to The HOME Study researchers and for the purposes of HOME Study analyses.



Previous IPD sharing statement:
The data sharing plans for the current study are unknown and will be made available at a later date.

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Participant information sheet version V2.0 17/10/2017 12/01/2018 No Yes
Protocol article protocol 07/08/2019 27/08/2019 Yes No
Statistical Analysis Plan statistical and economic analysis plan 04/05/2020 06/05/2020 No No
HRA research summary 28/06/2023 No No
Results article 10/08/2024 12/08/2024 Yes No

Additional files

ISRCTN86120296_PIS_V2.0_17Oct2017.pdf
Uploaded 12/01/2018

Editorial Notes

12/08/2024: Publication reference added.
18/03/2024: The intention to publish date was changed from 31/03/2024 to 31/12/2024.
18/09/2023: The intention to publish date has been changed from 30/03/2026 to 31/03/2024.
30/03/2023: The individual participant data (IPD) sharing statement and summary have been changed.
17/03/2023: The following changes have been made and the plain English summary updated accordingly:
1. The overall trial end date has been changed from 30/03/2022 to 31/10/2022.
2. The intention to publish date has been changed from 30/03/2023 to 30/03/2026.
09/11/2022: Internal review.
17/10/2022: The secondary outcome measures have been updated.
30/12/2021: The following changes have been made:
1. The overall trial end date has been changed from 30/12/2021 to 30/03/2022 and the plain English summary updated accordingly.
2. The intention to publish date has been changed from 30/06/2022 to 30/03/2023.
27/09/2021: The following changes have been made:
1. The overall trial end date has been changed from 30/09/2021 to 30/12/2021 and the plain English summary has been updated to reflect this change.
2. The intention to publish date has been changed from 31/03/2021 to 30/06/2022.
21/09/2021: Internal review.
06/05/2020: Publication reference added.
07/04/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 31/03/2020 to 05/03/2020.
2. The total final enrolment was added.
27/08/2019: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 31/12/2019 to 31/03/2020.
2. The overall trial end date was changed from 31/03/2020 to 30/09/2021.
3. Publication reference added.
25/04/2019: The condition has been changed from "Specialty: Ageing, Primary sub-specialty: Ageing; UKCRC code/ Disease: Generic Health Relevance/ No specific disease" to "Older people admitted to hospital" following a request from the NIHR.
26/03/2019: The recruitment end date was changed from 11/02/2019 to 31/12/2019.
15/02/2018: The target number of participants has been updated from 3244 to 3588. The secondary outcome measures have been updated.