| Family and friends are good for your health!
A conference entitled ‘Connections for Health’ organised
today (Friday 18 June 2004) by Age Concern Northern Ireland
and the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA)
at the Grosvenor House Conference Centre, Belfast, will explore
the impact of developing social capital on community and
older people’s groups.
For the first
time in Northern Ireland, research is being carried out
which will be launched at the conference to look
at this issue. ‘Social capital’ is the new term
for explaining the benefits of being better connected in
the local community, leading to improved health and wellbeing
through reduced isolation, increased empowerment and accessibility - being
better “connected” within our communities and
wider organisations.
It also refers to a sense of working together for the agreed “common
good” or mutual benefit.
Claire Keatinge,
Director of Community Development and Health at Age Concern
Northern Ireland, said: “Our families,
friends, neighbours and communities are important to all
of us and we are now able to show clearly that it is good
for the health and wellbeing of older people to be better
connected to local community based organisations. Being involved,
being active, being valued, learning and practicing new skills,
and spending time with friends new and old are vital components
of positive ageing.”
The ‘Actively Ageing Well’ initiative provides
a range of physical activity programmes and events for community
and older people’s groups across Northern Ireland and
also seeks to support and build capacity with participating
groups.
‘Actively Ageing Well’ was
developed by Age Concern and the HPA and it is funded by
lottery money awarded
through the New Opportunities Fund Healthy Living Centre
Initiative with additional support from other statutory partners.
Claire Keatinge
highlighted: “Investing in community
and older people’s groups can pay enormous dividends
for older people - especially when the groups develop
their activities with the active involvement of older people
in the design, development and delivery of programmes. This
involvement of older people is key to ‘Actively Ageing
Well’ - and the social capital gains from that
involvement are positive and clear.”
Linda
Barclay, Director of Programme Development at the HPA said: “There
is overwhelming evidence of the importance of physical
activity for older people, especially in assisting
them to maintain their independence in later life. Much investment
is made to alleviate ill health but it is our everyday experience
of the society we live in, how connected we feel to it, how
easily we can access its services, and how caring our community
is, that are amongst the most important factors determining
our overall health. ‘Actively Ageing Well’ aims
to build community and personal networks to support ageing
and it is important in combating social isolation and in
promoting the participation of older people in our society.”
END
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