Supportive communities for healthy ageing: A case study of rural Wales, Professor Charles Musselwhite
Community can be important as we age to help us live healthy and happy lives, for example in supporting needs, and overcoming barriers that become apparent in later life through social, emotional and spiritual support. I’ll report on a recent project carried out in West Wales that that looked at how community both supports, and is formed by older people. We ran four interactive workshops with 24 older people living in Mid and West Wales to identify what works well and what works poorly in their communities, and to co-create and co-develop solutions. We found that most older people are well supported by their local community which also supports their health and wellbeing. Social connectivity (e.g. friends and family sharing skills, knowledge and support) was vital to community. This is fostered by high levels of practical infrastructure (e.g. places to go, services, shops, groups) and underpinned by culture (understanding of place identity and history, understanding of community need, and a desire to involve and engage with the community). The findings challenge the need for individual resilience and offer a more collectivist perspective on maintaining health and wellbeing.
Негізгі бет CADR Conference 2024 Charles Musselwhite
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