More older people getting active and ageing well!
More older people are getting active in later life according to the ‘Actively Ageing Well’ Key Achievements Report which will be launched on the Age Concern Northern Ireland and the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) websites today. This report demonstrates that given the right environment and opportunities, older people have increased their levels of physical activity.
Through the large number of group representatives taking part in physical activity leadership training many groups can now run their own fun, safe and sustainable activity programmes. Families have indeed noticed positive changes in their older relatives’ lifestyles as the following quote from an Actively Ageing Well participant demonstrates: “Recently my newly married daughter phoned me to ask, ‘Are you in tonight, mother?’ Her husband of only a few months could be heard in the background saying, ‘your mother has more clubs than Tiger Woods!’
Speaking about the report, Anne O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Age Concern Northern Ireland, said: “Tackling health inequality is central to the work of Age Concern. Actively Ageing Well is our response to support older people stay independent and maintain good health and wellbeing. It has been a remarkable programme which impacted directly on improving the quality of life of thousands of older people across Northern Ireland.”
Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the HPA, added: “Ageing in an Inclusive Society, the core strategy for promoting the social inclusion of older people in Northern Ireland, strongly champions the approach to active ageing advocated through Actively Ageing Well. The Key Achievements Report presents a summary of the benefits, successes and key learning issues of this highly rated programme.”
The Key Achievements Report states that there is a continuing need to tackle ageism, provide evidence-based programmes and develop work with more vulnerable older people who may be isolated in their community. From today the above report can be accessed through the Age Concern Northern Ireland website at http://www.ageconcernni.org/document.htm and also at www.healthpromotionagency.org.uk.
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Notes to the Editor:
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Actively Ageing Well – adding years to life…adding life to years, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people aged 50 plus through the development of safe, sustainable physical activity programmes in association with community and older people’s groups. It is a five year project which has been developed by Age Concern Northern Ireland and the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland and is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
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Partnerships and additional support from local Health and Social Services Trusts and Councils have also contributed to the overall success of the work.
For media enquiries contact:
Rosie McGaughey at the HPA on Tel: 028 9031 1611.
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