MIRADA ACTIVA ("ACTIVE OUTLOOK")

Summary

This is a programme/network which aims to identify situations of loneliness and distress among older people and to respond as quickly as possible in order to prevent or remedy their potential adverse effects.

The programme seeks to involve associations of older people in the rapid detection of these situations, to channel this information to the Municipal Social Services and to support, insofar as this is necessary, the process of requesting resources which are available.

Increased population ageing and the rising number of people living alone is “an increasingly significant reality, and this is also the case in Bilbao. It is a cause for concern for the City Council and for the associations of older people in our municipality”. “The difficulties faced by people that live alone and struggle to cover their own basic needs, and that lack of support from family or social networks, in addition to the isolation and abandonment that can occur as a result of this, are realities which may often remain hidden, and therefore these are situations that we need to identify in order to be able to develop preventive actions and support mechanisms for these people”.

The programme seeks to provide the population of Bilbao with the option to participate voluntarily in the identification of situations involving older people who live alone or find themselves otherwise isolated, enabling the municipal social services to provide these individuals with information, guidance, and advice about access to public resources. The programme also seeks to provide greater resources for the identification of precarious situations experienced by older people in the municipality of Bilbao on the part of the municipal social services.

Website: http://bilbao.net/cs/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1279159382986&language=es&pageid=1279159382986&pagename=Bilbaonet%2FPage%2FBIO_contenidoFinal

Key facts

Main target group: Vulnerable older people (e.g. at risk or victims of abuse, living alone, poor etc.)

Other target group(s): Older people that live alone or that are otherwise isolated and that need family and/or social support but do not have access to this.

Sector(s): Health, Long-term care, Social protection

Other sector(s): A record is made every year of the number of people attended to and the requests lodged New solution: The practice presents a new response to a problem. The project is well-established and has been underway for several years.

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Inequities
Inclusion
Participation

Contact details

Name: Marian Pérez de Albéniz

Email address: bilbaoamigablemayores@bilbao.eus

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Civil Society Organisation
Older People’s Association
Social or health care provider
Volunteers
Private sector

How collaboration worked: The City Council of Bilbao, the Grupo SSI Servicios Sociales Integrados (‘Integrated Social Services Group’) cooperative society and ‘La Caixa’ Obra Social (‘‘La Caixa’ bank social fund’) have joined forces to develop ‘Active Outlook,’ a network for solidarity among older people that works with the support of individual volunteers and associations to identify situations of isolation as quickly as possible and to counter these by way of the Municipal Social Services.

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

Details on older people’s involvement: Participation was extended: • To any adult resident of Bilbao that knew older people in their vicinity that were living alone. • Through associations of older people in the municipality of Bilbao. • Through associations and organisations that are linked to older people in one way or another. • Through the social and cultural commissions of the District Councils. Each one of the 53 associations of older people in Bilbao identified two so-called “social antennae”

Moving forward

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:
The practice has made an impact through getting the 53 older people’s associations in the municipality of Bilbao involved as an active network for the detection of conditions of isolation. The “Active Outlook” programme identified 215 cases of people at possible social risk, 78% of whom were women and 22% of whom were men. 23 of these situations were classefied as “urgent”. Of all of the situations identified, only 102 were known to the municipal social services. Following on from this programme, a home visit was made to the remaining 113 older people, during which the latter were provided with information about the resources offered by the municipal social services. Of the 113 cases, 26% did not wish to answer, 35% answered and 39% were unable to answer. A further 39 cases were identified which involved other potential situations of risk, such as, for example, unhealthy behaviour, dangers inside and outside of the home, accessibility issues and inappropriate treatment

Looking back

Challenges:
Each one of the 53 associations of older people in Bilbao identified two so-called “social antennae” (individuals acting as reference figures in the detection of conditions of isolation). These “social antennae” received a training course to enable them to take charge of making people aware of the project within their organisation, acting as reference figures and outlining identifying characteristics. “Active Outlook” began with the creation and implementation of the “Active Network for Older People”, meaning that the participation of associations of older people in the city “has been, and continues to be, fundamental, because they provide people coming from organisations involved with voluntary tasks and enable these individuals to be trained as reference figures”