Community group explores healthy ageing habits
This summer the Super Snowdrops group for older people living with long term health conditions is exploring healthy ageing as part of Age Scotland and The Open University’s Take Five to Age Well initiative. Wellbeing development officer Laurene Cameron shares their story.
The Super Snowdrops meet every Tuesday in Lochgilphead at the Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Mid Argyll, which supports people living with a range of long-term health conditions. They took part in Take Five to Age Well in 2023 and decided this year to step it up a notch. So far, we’ve had five sessions based on the Take Five to Age Well pack, with between 18 and 20 participants each time. A colleague is also supporting a group in Tarbet of around twelve to take part in Take Five.
The Snowdrops love it! Our local Co-op has a food-share scheme, so in the nutrition session we enjoyed near to sell by date strawberries etc and talked about how to make use of the scheme to eat well on a tight budget. Group members have gone away and thought about recipes they can bring back to share, particularly ones suitable for batch cooking and freezing. One lady said she used to always have the same breakfast but is now experimenting, and writing that down.
I already do a lot of balance and mobility movement with the Super Snowdrops, but the Take Five pack has been a great complement to this. Having hand-out sheets to take away has been brilliant for group members, helping them remember things, tick off what they’ve done and write down ideas.
The Hydration Bingo sheet was fantastic as group members could see you don’t need to force yourself to drink glass after glass of water, as other things can help you stay hydrated. Many came back sharing what they’ve tried, and passed the sheet to friends,. One lady was prompted to put small glasses of water out hydration reminders, for example by her kettle, and noticed this made a difference. It’s all about little steps.
The Snowdrops have pushed themselves with their individual healthy ageing challenges, and it’s been an eye-opener how much everyone has engaged. Each session they say, 'You’ll never guess what I’ve done!'
We’ve set ourselves a whole group challenge - to get more socially engaged. The Snowdrops are all aged 70 plus, and some aren’t tech savvy, so our aim is to improve how we use smartphones to stay connected, safely. We set up a group WhatsApp chat where I share what’s coming up before each session and encourage individual chat between times. We’ve invited a guest expert to run through how to use phones and apps. The social connection session has also encouraged individual changes. For instance, one lady is varying her walking routes, so she has more chance of meeting different people.
The pack has been very good for me as a facilitator. There’s a lot to read, but it’s easy to follow, clear, and engaging. My top tip is to copy key information onto flipchart, which gets group members more engaged. Also, people sometimes get nervous about writing, but when they can have their say with stickers instead, that makes it easier.
