What matters most when it comes to supporting healthy ageing
Supporting older people to age well is a key part of Age Scotland’s health and wellbeing work. From staying hydrated to nurturing brain health, physical activity and social connection, we want to see as many older people as possible enjoy robust health and wellbeing in later life.
To that end, the health and wellbeing team offer Supporting Older People to Age Well workshops, aimed at staff and volunteers who work with older members and service users, to help them provide the best information and advice for healthy ageing. These interactive workshops include:
- An introduction to wellbeing as we age
- Opportunities to reflect on what you already do to support people to age well, and what more you might do, or do differently
- Research-based information, activities and ideas that you can apply to enhance the health and wellbeing of the older people you support
Recent feedback on the workshops has been very positive, highlighting the importance of interactive learning, evidence-based research and the chance to share experiences.
This came from one participant:
“This was a very warm, interactive, and engaging session. Janice was a wonderful facilitator, and Jo was a fantastic facilitator’s assistant. Everyone not only had the opportunity to share, but it quickly became clear that they wanted to share. The atmosphere was open, friendly, and welcoming.
“The quiz format added a fun element and kept the conversations flowing at a lively yet comfortable pace, with information presented in manageable, easy-to-digest question-and-answer chunks. I recommend this training to anyone working alongside older adults.”
Another participant appreciated the opportunity to direct older people to self-management strategies and peer support ‘at a time where resources are limited’.
‘Engaging and interactive’ were common feedback themes, with participants enjoying the opportunity to get involved during the session.
As one person said:
“I really enjoyed this workshop - it was presented in a very accessible, interesting way with lots of opportunities for discussion and reflection.”
The fact that the advice and information provided is research-based allows those taking part to feel confident in sharing what they’ve learned with older members and service users.
If you work with older adults and are interested in taking part, there are currently two upcoming SOPTAW workshops – the one in Edinburgh on March 24th is fully booked but you can join the waitlist. There are spaces in the Glasgow workshop on March 31st.
