title: Self-Care for Older People (SCOPE): a cluster randomized controlled trial of self-care training and health outcomes in low-income elderly in Singapore.
abstract: Population aging is associated with a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions. Previous studies have shown that older persons, specifically those with chronic conditions, often lack sufficient knowledge about their condition and thus frequently have poor self-care skills. Efforts to increase general health screenings and improve access to chronic condition management resources are hampered by a lack of disease and health awareness. Self-Care for Older People (SCOPE) study, a cluster randomized controlled trial in Singapore, was designed to evaluate the impact of a self-care program for chronic disease awareness and management of specific health measures and quality of life of older people over eighteen months. SCOPE provided self-care education targeted at older people with low income and low education in order to improve health-related knowledge. A total of 378 low-income older people with no or minimal disability, defined as having difficulty in one or more activities of daily living (ADL), were recruited from senior activity centers. The measurements taken included self-reported health conditions, health and disease knowledge questions, and biomarkers (HbA1c, blood pressure, peak expiratory flow, lipid panel, albumin, and creatinine). SCOPE was also designed to provide information for policy makers on chronic disease burden and healthcare facility utilization among community-dwelling older adults.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT01672177.
authors.affiliation: Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Program in Health Services and Systems Research, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore; National University of Singapore, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, AS1#03-06, 11 Arts Link, Singapore. Electronic address: angelique.chan@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Angelique
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Program in Health Services and Systems Research, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore; Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: david.matchar@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Matchar
authors.affiliation: Tsao Foundation, 298 Tiong Bahru Road, #15-01/06, Central Plaza, Singapore 16873, Singapore. Electronic address: matsao@tsaofoundation.org.
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.affiliation: Tsao Foundation, 298 Tiong Bahru Road, #15-01/06, Central Plaza, Singapore 16873, Singapore. Electronic address: susanaharding@tsaofoundation.org.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: Academia Sinica, Institute of European and American Studies, No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd., Nangang Dist., Taipei City 115, Taiwan. Electronic address: chitsun.chiu@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Chi-Tsun
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: National University of Singapore, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, AS1#03-06, 11 Arts Link, Singapore. Electronic address: bryan.zr.tay@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.affiliation: Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Program in Health Services and Systems Research, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore. Electronic address: prassanna.raman@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Prassanna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Raman
authors.affiliation: Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Program in Health Services and Systems Research, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore. Electronic address: zmjpietryla@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pietryla
authors.affiliation: Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Program in Health Services and Systems Research, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore. Electronic address: marafink@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mara K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Program in Health Services and Systems Research, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore. Electronic address: victoria.haldane@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Victoria Elizabeth
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Haldane
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011203:Poverty; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D012846:Singapore
keywords: Chronic disease; Elderly; Intervention; Randomized controlled trial; Self-care; Study design