MOBILE

Background

MOBILE is a research programme now based at the Department of Social Medicine. The programme was formerly within the former MRC Health Services Research Collaboration (HSRC) until September 2007.

The MOBILE programme is led by Professor Paul Dieppe (Bristol), Professor Yoav Ben-Shlomo (Bristol), Professor Shah Ebrahim (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), and Professor Marie Johnston (Aberdeen). The local co-ordinators are Dr Diane Dixon (Stirling) and Dr Rachael Gooberman-Hill (Bristol).

Core Questions

Our overarching aim is to find effective ways of preventing or treating physical disability in later life. Walking difficulties and painful joints are two common features in later life and are features which can and do have a significant impact on the everyday lives of older people.
The MOBILE programme is concerned with the assessment, prevention and treatment of walking difficulties and pain in hips and legs.
The programme builds on work from two previous programmes of research: the mobility, activity and participation among people aged 65+ (Map65+) Programme, and a programme to improve health care provision and utilisation for people with severe lower limb joint disease.

Main Aims

MOBILE has three main aims:

• To examine the theoretical basis of the assessment of the severity and impact of walking limitations and pain, and to explore ways of measuring them;
• To evaluate the reasons why people develop walking limitations and joint pain, and to understand people’s use of health and social services;
• To develop and pilot novel complex packages of care, involving self-help and behavioural interventions, as well as standard medical care. These will be designed to prevent or lessen the progression of walking limitations, reduce the need for joint replacement and improve quality of life.

How are we doing this:

• By analysing data from large scale surveys, including The Somerset and Avon Survey of Health (SASH); The West of Scotland Twenty-07 study; and a survey conduced on our behalf by the Office for National Statistics (ONS);
• By interviewing people with joint pain or walking limitations about their use of health care, their experience of pain and limitations;
• By reviewing existing literature about interventions and pain;
• By exploring the diagnosis and management of joint pain, using small-scale trials, ethnography, interviews and sensory testing techniques.

Physical Disability

The MOBILE research programme is about physical disability. Our overarching aim is to find effective ways of preventing or treating physical disability in older people.
Disability is a subject that does not excite a great deal of interest in mainstream health care. One result of this is a shortage of good educational materials and programmes about disability in UK medical and dental schools and health colleges. Paul Dieppe has been working in conjunction with the disability partnership and other groups on the development of educational materials about disability for use in higher education. These materials include the booklet ‘One-In-Four-Of-Us’.

Further Information

You may obtain further information from members of the research team:

The MOBILE Programme
Department of Social Medicine
University of Bristol
Canynge Hall
Whiteladies Road
Bristol
BS8 2PR
UK
Tel: +44 (0)117 928 7345

Or, you may email us:

Salma Ayis
Andy Beswick
Diane Dixon
Rachael Gooberman-Hill
Jeremy Horwood
Fiona Mackichan
Briony Maitland
Beth Pollard
Anna Sansom
Sue Williams