Healthy Ageing Project
The North East Healthy Communities Healthy Ageing Project has been developed to better support the needs of our local population.
Research from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that older people are more likely to have multiple chronic health conditions, be less socially connected, less physically active and are more likely to have falls. Of particular concern are those people in our community experiencing social and economic disadvantage, vulnerability and inequality. These older people are more likely to experience poor health, and are less likely to access the services they need.
Both Darebin and Banyule have areas experiencing significant disadvantage.
“With the right policies and services in place, population ageing can be viewed as a rich new opportunity for both individuals and societies.” (WHO)
Our work
Meeting the needs of the ageing population presents a complex problem for our catchment. However, this also creates an opportunity to engage the assets in our region and workforce, and move towards community-informed approaches to facilitate healthy ageing.
Our strategy is three-fold: collective impact, place-based approaches and co-design. All of these methods have proven track records in addressing complex issues and will bring communities and services together to design and deliver local solutions.
Why target healthy ageing?
The NEPCP 50+ Data Stories (available on our Resources page) provides locale specific data on our ageing population and the expected increased demand for health services associated with an ageing population. Using this research, we have identified the main issues facing older citizens in each of the three local government areas:
Banyule
- Banyule’s population is projected to age over the coming decade.
- Banyule is ranked tenth in Victoria for the number of people living with dementia and this is not predicted to change greatly; 13th in 2030, and 12th in 2050.
Darebin
- The proportion of the population in Darebin aged 50 years and over is not projected to increase in the coming decade, although the number of older people will increase.
- Like Banyule, Darebin has high rates of dementia (ranked 8th in Victoria). It also has high rates of osteoporosis.
Nillumbik
- Nillumbik’s population is projected to age over the next decade, with the number of people aged over 50 growing from 34% to 39%. (This includes a doubling of the population aged from 75-84, and an increase by two thirds of the population aged 70-74.
- Dementia will be one of the most significant health issues for the older residents of Nillumbik, with a projected three-fold increase in the number of people living with dementia between 2010 and 2050.
Healthy Ageing Workshops
The North East Healthy Communities’ Healthy Ageing project team recently joined with The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) to host two full day workshops on innovations in the field of ageing. It was attended by experts in the field and local community members (afternoon sessions only). The event was facilitated by Kelly Ann McKercher, a Principal at TACSI who specialises in participatory design.
Session One: Introduction to people-driven innovation
This session encouraged attendees to form connections around particular issues or challenges (eg social connection, ageing in place, carers and transport).
Session Two: Practice clinic– our collaborative innovation project
The second workshop aimed to give attendees tools to:
• lead or support co-design research with adults;
• develop skills in planning, resourcing and organising innovation; and
• develop clear actions to progress ideas/opportunities/projects.
