Adapted yoga for older adults with multimorbidity

Project title: Individually randomised controlled multi-centre trial to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of an adapted yoga programme for older adults with multimorbidity, including an embedded process evaluation 

Funder: National Institute of Health Research – Health Technology Assessment 

DSER staff: Dr Garry Tew, Dr Lesley Ward 

Collaborators: Prof Tim Rapley, Northumbria University; York Trials Unit, University of York; Laura Bissell and Jenny Howsam, yoga consultants; The British Wheel of Yoga 

Multimorbidity is common in older adults, and is associated with high levels of illness burden and healthcare expenditure. The evidence-base for how best to manage older adults with multimorbidity is currently insufficient. Yoga may be a useful intervention, because it is low cost, simple, and can address several health conditions simultaneously.  

Gentle Year Yoga (GYY) is a yoga programme that was developed for older adults with chronic conditions,  adaptations to more challenging yoga poses were developed to enable participation. A pilot trial of GYY to assess the benefits of this programme among a physically-inactive ageing population have demonstrated feasibility and the preliminary data is encouraging. A larger-scale multi-centre trial is currently underway which will determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of the GYY programme. 

Pilot study press release