A new venture from the University of York and Hull York Medical School is developing a scalable mental-health intervention for older adults as loneliness continues to rise across the UK. ThirdAgeTx has been created to translate academic research into practical tools that health and care organisations can adopt more easily.
The company is based on findings from the BASIL+ trial, the largest study to date focused on reducing loneliness through behavioural activation. The research team tested a structured programme in which trained coaches made weekly phone calls to older people, helping them stay socially connected and maintain activity. The approach led to a 21% reduction in emotional loneliness over a three-month period, and benefits continued even after the calls ended.
Professor Simon Gilbody, Co-founder of ThirdAgeTx, said: “This level of intervention doesn’t require highly trained NHS psychologists, which meant that it could be scaled up easily to reach the rapidly increasing demand during some of the most challenging times of the pandemic.
“This issue of course is not isolated to the pandemic years and remains a serious health risk today, but Covid19 certainly gave us an opportunity to test this method to the fullest.
“Loneliness is known as a ‘silent killer’ because it increases the risks of many different life-threatening conditions such as stroke and dementia. We found that tele-care reaches those that are most vulnerable to loneliness, anxiety and depression, as it can be accessed at home and at a time of convenience.”
ThirdAgeTx has been identified by Innovate UK as a high-growth SME and has secured a place on several accelerator programmes. Funding from the Mayor of West Yorkshire is supporting expansion activity across the region. The company plans to scale its model in partnership with Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humberside, alongside NHS and care-home providers seeking cost-effective interventions that can be deployed rapidly and at volume.
