Positive Ageing Advocacy Group
Advocacy Working Groups/Interest Areas:
Issues discussed by the group include, but are not limited to:
- Housing concerns and opportunities for seniors.
- Dementia friendly awareness, planning and training.
- Mental Health and Social Isolation.
- Elder Financial Abuse.
- LGBTIQ friendly practice in aged care.
- Clarity around current access methods to residential and health support.
- Transport and Accessibility.
- Planning for end-of-life care.
What is Positive Ageing?
“Positive ageing is an approach which recognises how negative mental states (beliefs, thoughts, ideas, attitudes) can have a detrimental impact on physical and emotional wellbeing as we age. It proposes three principal strategies to prevent negative outcomes:-
- developing a more balanced understanding of the reality of ageing.
- applying techniques drawn from humanistic psychology to gain a degree of control over negative mental states.
- building emotional wellbeing and resilience in order to be better able to negotiate the significant challenges in later life.”
Articles on positive ageing:
- Australian Ageing Agenda
- Victorian Active Ageing Partnership
- Positive Ageing – A New Approach to Later Life (UK)
- World Health Organisation – Towards an Age-friendly World
- Aged Care Guide – Positive Ageing
- Age Friendly Belfast
- Slow Aging Blog
What is Advocacy?
“Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group which aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research.” – Wikipedia
Advocacy Organisations and Articles:
- Elder Rights Advocacy – Empowering Older People
- Office of the Public Advocate
- Older Persons Advocacy Network
- My Aged Care – Advocacy Services
- Seniors Rights Victoria
- COTA Victoria – The Voice of Older Victorians
- Advocacy – Wikipedia
- Queensland Advocacy Inc. – What is Advocacy? PDF
National Service Providers:
Official government portals for information and access to aged care services.
Local Service Providers:
- Castlemaine Health – Residential Care
- Castlemaine District Community Health
- Seniors Radio – Radio 88FM Castlemaine
- Goldfields Libraries – Home Library Service
Mental Health and Ageing:
World Heath key facts on Mental Health and Ageing:
- Globally, the population is ageing rapidly. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double, from 12% to 22%.
- Mental health and well-being are as important in older age as at any other time of life.
- Mental and neurological disorders among older adults account for 6.6% of the total disability (DALYs) for this age group.
- Approximately 15% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental disorder.
Organisation & Article Links:
- Dementia Australia
- World Health Organisation – Mental health of older adults
- Beyond Blue – Social isolation in older adults
- Japan – Dementia Friendly Communities
- NPR – Could Thinking Positively About Aging Be The Secret Of Health?
Housing:
- Non-Profit Tiny Homes
- Ten senior living design innovations
- Aging in A New Age: Innovative Models for Senior Housing
- Apartments for Life—A Dutch Senior Housing Innovation
To Download an Expression of interest form, and the Draft terms of reference, please follow the links below:
Positive Ageing Advocacy Group – Expression of Interest
Positive Ageing Advocacy Group – Terms of Reference
Dictionary of Acronyms:
… in development ….
Draft page for links and information relevant to the Positive Ageing Advocacy Group.
