Project lead: Other

Other project lead: Ageing Well Officer – Local Government

• Local authorities
• Older People’s Association
• Social or health care provider
• Volunteers

How collaboration worked: The newsletter was developed by a Steering Committee comprised of local health services, Indigo University of the Third Age and Senior Citizen Club members. They provided oversight and strategic guidance to the project; four steering committee meetings were held at key project stages. The final concept was developed in a workshop with older people who identified the kind of information they would like to know about. Seniors groups are encouraged to contribute to each edition.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: The newsletter is currently at its 23rd edition and older people continue to feed-in content and make themselves available for feature interviews.

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
An evaluation session with the Steering Group was held and direction for the newsletter was provided. Suggestions to engage older people to interact were provided, including adding in a Q&A with the Ageing Well Officer section or including jokes, recipes and puzzles. This is being trialed.

Feedback:
There has been positive feedback on the general content. An ongoing challenge is providing relevant place-based information given that Indigo Shire covers a large area with many townships. It is essential that older people are continually engaged for content so that they feel their area of the Shire is represented.

Expansion plans:
The newsletter will continue and the aim is to grow its audience. The majority of service groups and health services already share it with their members.

Challenges:
The main challenge is making sure that the newsletter is interesting, relevant, and is meeting a need. It is difficult to promote smaller events happening in one town in the Shire if there are not events to promote in other towns in the Shire, as this makes the publication seem biased. The main way that this is avoided is by sharing information that is generally applicable, rather than specific. Feedback is regularly sought from consumers and so far the newsletter remains a relevant part of their lives for information and communication.