practical living associate professor Evonne Miller , professor Laurie Buys and research fellow Geraldine Donoghue and funded by the Australian Research Council and industry partner BallyCara .
A key outcome of the project was Living in Aged Care : A photographic exhibition of laughter , loss and leisure [ pictured opposite ] at the State Library of Queensland . The exhibition provided an intimate insight into the often-private world of aged care . As well as highlighting interactions and activities with friends , family and staff ( laughter and leisure ), the photographs taken by residents , staff and the research team poignantly capture the changes , challenges and resilience of older age – the increasing awareness of life ’ s fragility and older people ’ s experience of illness , dying and loss . One story about a porcelain angel , as told by a person living in aged care , typifies the love and loss that is often part of the lived experience of people as they age .
CREATING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES Empowering people to age well in their community is a whole-of-community issue , with some projects working to challenge attitudes and bring about change .
The Dementia-Friendly Kiama project is working with the local community , people living with dementia and their allies to create an inclusive community . In 2016 , the project won a National Award for Local Government in the Disability Access and Inclusion category .
Similarly , the worldwide movement to create Age-Friendly Cities is about redesigning cities to be inclusive of older people . In the UK , the Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing project , ‘ Researching Age-Friendly Communities : Stories from older people as co-investigators ’, recruited older people as co-researchers to examine the agefriendliness of Manchester . Through this process , older people became politicised and advocated to improve the built environment as well as the experiences of older people living in Manchester . Rather than older people being passive subjects , they were co-researchers and active participants in the process .
Older people are also organising to create their own structures to age well in their community through initiatives such as the Waverton Hub . This is a mutual organisation of residents of Waverton , Wollstonecraft and neighbouring areas in Sydney . The members of the hub help each other to enjoy life and live in their homes and community as long as possible , to be as healthy as they can , and to achieve this for as little cost as possible . The hub started in 2012 with a dozen people from the local area , and by the end of April 2015 had over 300 members .
The Waverton Hub is a great example of using the people in the local community and their skills and knowledge to create community connections , and of supporting people to age well at low cost . The hub operates completely outside the aged-care system and is run by the community for the community .
IMPLICATION FOR SERVICES WORKING WITH OLDER PEOPLE There are opportunities for services to support the active participation and engagement of older people and their allies in the design and delivery of their supports . Small steps can lead to big changes . One way of working out what steps your organisation or team could undertake is through using the Client
Engagement Toolkit . It was developed by Dr Andrea Petriwskyj , from the University of Queensland through an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award in partnership with two aged-care providers . The toolkit provides practical resources and steps for staff working in aged care to explore what engagement and participation mean . It also provides a step-by-step process for staff to think about engagement and participation with the people who use their services .
Similarly , CommunityWest , through the Step Forward - Together project , worked with a range of different projects that redesigned services through a coproduction or co-design approach . The project produced a resource kit that includes a range of practical ideas and suggestions to engage service users and initiate co-production approaches .
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES The reforms in aged care are challenging the way older people and their allies are viewed and engaged in the design and delivery of their supports . There are opportunities for agencies to think differently and engage older people , their communities and networks in a different way to empower people to age well .
Those who work with older people should see the rich histories and strengths of older people so that services can be designed and delivered in their interests . Similarly , older people and their allies need to speak up and collectively organise to demand that aged-care services be provided in a different way . ■
Carrie Hayter is managing director of Carrie Hayter Consulting , a firm specialising in the disability , aged-care and healthcare sectors .
Nominations for the Quality Agency ’ s widely anticipated Better Practice Awards 2017 open from 1st – 30th April . These awards celebrate projects , initiatives or programs ( Commendation Awards ) that act as exemplars of the better practice and innovation across the broad spectrum of aged care services .
This year ’ s awards incorporate a new higher tier , ‘ National Innovation and Excellence in Aged Care awards ’, which recognises a smaller number of providers nationally , demonstrating leading edge and innovative practice in aged care that represent “ excellence ”.
All nominations are assessed by an expert independent panel against nomination selection criteria including a focus on quality of care and quality of life outcomes for consumers . We invite all nominations from home care and residential aged care sectors .
For further information on key award dates , eligibility , selection criteria , tips on how to nominate and a link to our online nomination form visit our website : www . aacqa . gov . au .
Australian Government Australian Aged Care Quality Agency
agedcareinsite . com . au 17