Trial Outcomes & Findings for Putting Life in Years (PLINY): Telephone Friendship Groups Research Study (NCT NCT01754753)

NCT ID: NCT01754753

Last Updated: 2021-02-23

Results Overview

The Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) is a 36 item scale, which measures eight domains of health status: physical functioning (10 items); physical role limitations (four items); bodily pain (two items); general health perceptions (five items); energy/vitality (four items); social functioning (two items); emotional role limitations (three items) and mental health (five items). A scoring algorithm is used to convert the raw scores into the eight dimensions listed above. The scores are transformed to range from zero where the respondent has the worst possible health to 100 where the respondent is in the best possible health.

Recruitment status

TERMINATED

Study phase

NA

Target enrollment

157 participants

Primary outcome timeframe

SF36 at 6 months

Results posted on

2021-02-23

Participant Flow

Participant milestones

Participant milestones
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
Overall Study
STARTED
78
79
Overall Study
COMPLETED
26
30
Overall Study
NOT COMPLETED
52
49

Reasons for withdrawal

Reasons for withdrawal
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
Overall Study
Study close
43
44
Overall Study
Lost to Follow-up
9
5

Baseline Characteristics

Putting Life in Years (PLINY): Telephone Friendship Groups Research Study

Baseline characteristics by cohort

Baseline characteristics by cohort
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=78 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=79 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
Total
n=157 Participants
Total of all reporting groups
Age, Continuous
81.4 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.9 • n=5 Participants
80.3 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.3 • n=7 Participants
80.8 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.6 • n=5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
54 Participants
n=5 Participants
51 Participants
n=7 Participants
105 Participants
n=5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
24 Participants
n=5 Participants
28 Participants
n=7 Participants
52 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
74 participants
n=5 Participants
74 participants
n=7 Participants
148 participants
n=5 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Any other white background
1 participants
n=5 Participants
4 participants
n=7 Participants
5 participants
n=5 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Carribbean
1 participants
n=5 Participants
0 participants
n=7 Participants
1 participants
n=5 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Indian
0 participants
n=5 Participants
1 participants
n=7 Participants
1 participants
n=5 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Irish
1 participants
n=5 Participants
0 participants
n=7 Participants
1 participants
n=5 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Prefer not to say
1 participants
n=5 Participants
0 participants
n=7 Participants
1 participants
n=5 Participants

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: SF36 at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

The Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) is a 36 item scale, which measures eight domains of health status: physical functioning (10 items); physical role limitations (four items); bodily pain (two items); general health perceptions (five items); energy/vitality (four items); social functioning (two items); emotional role limitations (three items) and mental health (five items). A scoring algorithm is used to convert the raw scores into the eight dimensions listed above. The scores are transformed to range from zero where the respondent has the worst possible health to 100 where the respondent is in the best possible health.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=30 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
SF-36 Mental Health Dimension
77.5 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 18.4
70.7 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 21.2

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: SF36 other dimensions at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

The Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) is a 36 item scale, which measures eight domains of health status: physical functioning (10 items); physical role limitations (four items); bodily pain (two items); general health perceptions (five items); energy/vitality (four items); social functioning (two items); emotional role limitations (three items) and mental health (five items). A scoring algorithm is used to convert the raw scores into the eight dimensions listed above. The scores are transformed to range from zero where the respondent has the worst possible health to 100 where the respondent is in the best possible health.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=30 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
Other Dimensions of the SF-36 (and Specifically Physical Health)
60.3 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 29.9
56 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 29.9

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: EQ-5D at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

EuroQol-5D-3L (EQ-5D-3L) is an instrument which evaluates the generic quality of life developed in Europe and widely used. The EQ-5D descriptive system is a preference-based HRQL measure with one question for each of the five dimensions that include mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. This ranges from 1 (good health) to - 0.56.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=29 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
EQ-5D for Health Economic Analysis
0.73 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 0.35
0.71 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 0.27

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: GSE at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

The General Perceived Self Efficacy (GSE) Scale is a 10-item questionnaire assessing a person's coping resources. Responses are made on a 4-point scale. Summing up the responses to all 10 items yields the final composite score with a range from 10 to 40. Higher scores indicate higher perceived general self-efficacy, lower scores indicate lower perceived general self-efficacy

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=30 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
General Perceived Self Efficacy (GSE) Scale
32.9 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 4.7
32.1 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 3.8

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: PHQ-9 at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 is the major depressive disorder (MDD) module of the full PHQ. It scores each of the 9 DSM criteria of MDD as "0" (not at all) to "3" (nearly every day), providing a 0-27 severity score. Higher scores indicate better outcome.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=30 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
3.1 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 4
3.6 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 4.6

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: De Jong at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

The de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale score is a measuring instrument for loneliness. The total scale score is the sum of the item scores, ranging from 0 (not lonely) to 11 (extremely lonely).

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=30 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
De Jong Loneliness Scale
3.5 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 3.4
3.3 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 2.9

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: ONS wellbeing at 6 months

Population: Intention to treat

The Office for National Statistics Wellbeing Question is a standard question used by Office for National Statistics to examine subjective wellbeing of the general population in the UK, with questions grouped in three domains - (evaluative, experience and eudemonic). It is scored on a 0 to 10 scale with a higher score indicating better well-being.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Telephone Friendship Groups
n=26 Participants
Participants allocated to telephone friendship groups will take part in 12 weekly group telephone discussions. The participant will be called, by a trained Age UK Sheffield volunteer, in their own home. The group discussions will take place for about an hour each week and involve between 6-8 participants. Participants will be introduced to weekly group calls by the volunteer who will call each participant individually for around 20 minutes each week for up to six weeks before the group is established. The group may have a particular focus or talk about different topics each week. The individual participants are joined together through a teleconferencing system (provided by Community Network). Telephone Friendship groups
Usual Health and Social Care
n=30 Participants
Participants allocated to the control arm will not receive any research intervention. However, they will participate in the research by completing questionnaires about their health and wellbeing.
ONS Wellbeing Question
8 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 1.5
7.6 units on a scale
Standard Deviation 1.8

Adverse Events

Telephone Friendship Groups

Serious events: 0 serious events
Other events: 0 other events
Deaths: 0 deaths

Usual Health and Social Care

Serious events: 0 serious events
Other events: 0 other events
Deaths: 0 deaths

Serious adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Other adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Additional Information

Daniel Hind - Assistant Director Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit

The University of Sheffield

Phone: 441142220707

Results disclosure agreements

  • Principal investigator is a sponsor employee
  • Publication restrictions are in place