Connect-5 Needs Assessment Survey to Identify Healthy Lifestyle Requirements of a Rural Irish Community

Overview

This is an anonymous needs assessment survey of the population of an Irish urban town. We plan to collect anonymous survey data in order to better understand residents needs and to determine the desired functionality of a new coach-led wellness app operated by our partners. This platform is currently trialled for health care professionals working in the RCSI Hospital Group. The survey will collect information on participants demographics, their lifestyle (including sleep, exercise, food, relationships, meaning and purpose, substance use and stress management). We will also ask participants about their use of wellness apps to support healthy choices related to their lifestyle. We also plan to conduct a qualitative assessment to further explore needs related to lifestyle health in specific cohorts, namely, older people (65 years and older), recent migrants, members of the travelling community, perinatal women, lone-parents, individuals with physical disabilities, secondary school students and remote workers.

There has been an increase in lifestyle related diseases worldwide. Living a healthy lifestyle is important to prevent lifestyle-related diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, mental health issues, certain cancers, autoimmunity and gastro-intestinal disease. The economic impact of these lifestyle-related diseases in Europe alone is set to exceed €200 billion by 2030. Worldwide, one in five people are at an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19, mostly as a result of underlying lifestyle-related diseases. Additionally, global efforts to manage COVID-19 infection have disrupted regular care required by those with these issues. Dealing with this requires that people better manage their own health and address lifestyle related factors that increase the risk associated with such diseases, including inactivity, substance abuse and unhealthy diet. These risk factors are modifiable and can be reduced by health interventions and tools to support a healthy lifestyle. The COVID-19 pandemic caused prolonged feelings of fear, uncertainty and isolation among the general population. This is likely to impact vulnerable members of society, such as young people, elderly people and those in ethnic minority communities in greater proportions. Children and adolescents are experiencing increased adverse mental health effects such as social isolation, loneliness, depression and anxiety, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Irish adults aged 70 and over have reported worse mental health and increased feelings of loneliness due to cocooning throughout the pandemic. This social isolation and loneliness puts them at increased risk of cognitive and cardiovascular decline. It is important that we prioritise the development of strategies to maintain social engagement, manage loneliness and encourage continued physical activity among older people. Work habits are currently changing at a rapid pace. Significant sections of our workforces are now working from home and at least 50% are expected to remain at home, even after the current pandemic has resolved. Reports indicate that a significant proportion of this workforce is experiencing issues with disconnection and mental health. As a result, understanding the impact of remote and flexible working arrangements on employee health and mental wellbeing has been included as a research priority within psychological science. While there is evidence that remote working has positive effects on well-being, these effects are not consistent. Remote working may also lead to greater levels of professional isolation, reduced work-life balance, increase work-related fatigue and have negative impacts on well-being. This study is being conducted to better understand citizen's needs in relation to living a healthier lifestyle.