Most people plan to stay connected to their community as they age and this is the major focus of national initiatives across Australia (1). A person’s experience of healthy ageing is conceptualised according to the context of their social connections within their environment though physical proximity (2) and also through online technology (3).Community hubs have emerged as a responsive option to host healthy ageing programs in regional and urban communities across Australia.
Hal Kendig Research Development grant funding in 2022 from the AAG Research Trust supported a project in which I explored how community hubs enable older people to remain connected in their community and engage in healthy ageing activities. Data gathering commenced at Connect Victoria Park Village Hub in urban Western Australia (4) during a 2023 Open Day that drew 53 members and volunteers, followed by in-depth telephone interviews with nine older individuals, nine paid community hub facilitators, and two National hub administrators.
Triggering mechanisms for older people to engage in community hubs were categorised during data analysis from the context of the older individual, community hub organisation, and national administrators. Individuals were more likely to engage when there was a social element, “socialising is as important to our health as exercise” (77 year old Geoff), and motivated to attend exercise when they realised the benefits, “…now I exercise for fun but also to help me avoid falls” (70 year old Sue).
The CEO of Connect Victoria Park Village Hub (4) described keeping all dimensions of wellness at the forefront of activity planning, “we invite members of various ages and ability to mutually support one another, for example by going shopping together”. A community hub facilitator in a rural and remote district in Western Australia (5) described how the community hub promoted reciprocity between members, “as social connections grew, so did the asset-base and the range of activities available to members to support one another”.
An administrator of the National Village Hubs project that established 12 community hubs in regional and urban areas across Australia (6) highlighted the importance of a paid local member to boost membership through facilitation, “they used a social prescribing model in linking members to healthy ageing activities according to their interests and needs”.
Successful community hubs have emerged organically by extending healthy ageing activities to members according to their needs while at the same time boosting vocations across the community. A coordinator at a rural and remote community hub described the increase in community population numbers through the hub, “we were saddened when older people moved away from our community because they required more support at home, so we found Staying in Place (7) that connects local older members with local contractors who provide gardening, cleaning, and social support”.
This Hal Kendig Research Development Program grant funded project highlighted the immeasurable social investment of community hubs in engaging individuals in healthy ageing while also helping to sustain the population in urban and rural and remote communities (8).
References:
1. Australian Government, Department of Health, and Aged Care. (2023). Older people are at the centre. https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/aged-care-reforms/priorities/older-people-at-the-centre
2. Lawton, M. P. (1989). Environmental proactivity and affect in older people. In S. Spacapan & S. Oskamp (Eds.), The social psychology of aging (pp. 135–163). Sage Publications, Inc.
3. Naseri, C., Beilby, J., Vaz, S., Jacques, A., Xu, D., Garswood, L., O’Connell, H., & Hill, A.-M. (2023). CONNECT 60+: A Wellness Program for Older Adults Delivered From a Community Hub. Progress in community health partnerships, 17(2), 193-205. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2023.a900200
4. https://www.connectvictoriapark.org
5. https://pingellysomersetalliance.com.au
6. https://www.ilaustralia.org.au/rethink-ageing/villagehubs
7. https://pingellysomersetalliance.com.au/staying-in-place
8. Field P et al. (2024) Health systems model for chronic disease secondary prevention in rural and remote areas – Chronic disease: Road to health. Australian Health Review 48(3), 240–247. doi:10.1071/AH23180