Presenter(s):
Kathleen Brasher; Rachel Winterton; Natalie Gower; Kelly Tamang, This Day & Age, Australia
Abstract
Fostering healthy ageing in small rural communities presents unique, dynamic challenges. In northeast Victoria, older people comprise approximately 40% of the population of small rural communities and have higher levels of chronic disease than the state average. The communities themselves are more socio-economically disadvantaged than regional or urban settings. The second edition of the WHO ICOPE Guidelines emphasises the crucial role of community organisations in maintaining and enhancing functional ability.
The Indigo 4Ms brings together evidence-based guidelines from WHO ICOPE, Australian policy, and practice through four interconnected areas: what matters, medication, mobility, and mental wellbeing, to prevent, slow, or even reverse common age-related difficulties in hearing, seeing, moving, and remembering. Through co-design, older people and healthcare staff developed tools to guide the implementation of the Indigo 4Ms.
With funding from the State Trustees Australia Foundation, the Indigo 4Ms in the Community project is introducing the Indigo 4Ms tool for older people to four rural townships in northeast Victoria through a partnership with local Neighbourhood Houses. The Indigo 4Ms approach aims to foster community partnerships that develop resources and strategies aligned with the Indigo 4Ms tool, enabling older people to become aware of and take action to maintain and enhance their health and wellbeing.
Using the concept of institutional bricolage, this paper will describe the processes through which small rural communities attempted to navigate social and organisational networks in their resource-constrained environments to embed new ideas into existing structures. It will examine the impact of these processes on the ability of communities to implement the Indigo 4Ms approach, thereby fostering healthy ageing.
Bio(s):
Dr Kathleen Brasher is a research fellow at the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research in the La Trobe Rural Health School.
Kathleen obtained her PhD in the sociology of health and illness at Monash University. Kathleen’s research interests include rural health and well-being in later life, age-friendly environments, program evaluation, participatory methods and community development in rural settings.
Since 2006, Kathleen has been involved in the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Communities initiative, providing advice and training across Australia and internationally. Kathleen is a technical advisor to the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. She has co-authored numerous scientific articles, book chapters, and policy and practice resources.
