Does Siel Bleu make people happy? At least the title of a research, conducted by Siel Bleu about the benefits of the physical training programme for older people suggests that. In the “The Happier Study”, Siel Bleu consulted residents, staff and overall nursing home organisations in 32 nursing homes where the programme is used to help older people to maintain the ability to function independently and to retain social connections in their community.

The research was funded by the European Commission and supported by the French Ministry of Health, HAPPIER took place in 32 nursing homes across the four Siel Bleu countries with 450 residents of varying degrees of dependency, mobility and cognition.

The results show how Siel Bleu improves the quality of life not only for participants:

• 1 less minor fall per participant every year
• 1 less accidental fall per participant every 18 months
• 87% improvement in participants’ moving capacity
• 15% reduction in participants feeling life is empty
• 37% improvement in participants capacity to wash themselves
• 80% care staff believe their work conditions are improved by our programmes
• 96% of medical staff agreed that the programmes are “preventative” by the end of the study

Find the full report of the research here: http://www.sielbleu.ie/the-happier-study/

To date, Siel Bleu is up and running in 13 locations around Ireland and working with 1,800 adults on a weekly basis. Siel Bleu Ireland is working toward the goal of working with 40 new nursing homes in 2015; at the time of writing, Siel Bleu has signed 31 new nursing home clients.

In order to achieve that goal Siel Bleu has also partnered with ChangeX and is one of the ideas that local communities can get started with the support of the ChangeX network. Classes can be run in nursing homes but are also often offered in community centres to bring people together in the community.

If you would like to learn more about what’s involved in starting a Siel Bleu class, you can find more information and our 5-step guide here.