Community interventions to promote ageing in place through participatory approaches with older people
Summary
The Village model is an innovative response to ageing populations with complex health and social care needs. In the US, where the Village model has been most extensively developed, older residents have worked together to form membership-based groups to address a variety of age-related needs.
The Manchester-based research project – Urban Villages – has tested the potential of the Village model, using participatory approaches working with groups of older people in two inner-city environments in Manchester, both with significant levels of economic deprivation. Residents were supported to develop and test in total seven age-friendly projects, all aimed at reducing social isolation and supporting ageing in place.
The project adopted a participatory approach to enable older local citizens to have greater voice in shaping services that are important to their health and well-being. More specifically, the research aimed to involve marginalised individuals and groups in the co-design, leadership and implementation of projects to better support the goal of ageing in place.
In addition to extensive ethnographic observations in the two communities, focus groups and interviews were conducted with residents and stakeholders, exploring the potential for further developing Village-type projects in low-income neighbourhoods.
Findings highlight the importance of social and environmental structures within urban environments and some of the barriers and facilitators associated with engaging older people in service development. In summary, ensuring an age-friendly infrastructure through access to public spaces, mentoring support and encouragement was key to successful project delivery.
Website: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=48721
Key facts
Main target group: Vulnerable older people (e.g. at risk or victims of abuse, living alone, poor etc.)
Sector(s): Urban development
Desired outcome for older people:
Contribute
- Ageing in place
- Inequities
- Inclusion
- Participation
Contact details
Name: Doran, Patty
Email address: patty.doran@manchester.ac.uk
Preferred language(s): English