Sector shares positive ageing strategies
Hundreds of people are gathering in Adelaide today for the inaugural Positive Ageing Summit to work together to achieve better outcomes in aged care.
The inaugural Positive Ageing Summit offers the platform that reablement, restorative care and allied health needs to move towards more positively aged older adults in Australia, said conference advisor Dr Tim Henwood as the two-day event kicks off in Adelaide on Wednesday.
The summit has drawn around 250 participants to the Adelaide Hilton for a packed program of evidence-based information and allied health-driven strategies that aim to improve the health, wellbeing and quality of life of older Australians.
With reablement featuring strongly in the incoming aged care reforms, including Support at Home, the Positive Ageing Summit is an important event, said Dr Tim Henwood, principal consultant at AgeFIT Solutions.
“We’re finally starting a conversation, aren’t we?” Dr Henwood told Australian Ageing Agenda.
“There is a whole group of likeminded people who either already trust in the evidence or want to believe in the evidence, who are coming together,” said Dr Henwood, who has decades of experience publishing academic and sector publications and implementing targeted exercise programs for seniors in community and residential aged care settings.
“Hopefully this is part of the groundswell that reablement, restorative care and allied health needs so that we can see better, more positively aged older adults in Australia.”
Wednesday’s program opens with Associate Professor Justin Keogh from Bond University delivering a keynote on a holistic approach to healthy ageing followed by Australia’s Chief Allied Health Officer Anita Hobson-Powell discussing how current reforms are shaping the sector, and the key changes needed to embed reablement and wellness into everyday aged care.
There are also panel discussions looking at overcoming barriers to implementation as well as sessions on falls preventions, better dying and reducing social isolation.
Delegates will be able to take away practical solutions, said Dr Henwood.
“It doesn’t need to be something massive, like a big intervention that can change a client’s life or change an organisation’s profile. I think it can be just a little idea where they think I can take this and I can embed it into my own practice and make it work for my clients.”
Dr Henwood is appearing on a panel of experts on Wednesday afternoon discussing reablement and restorative care across the sector. Moderated by LPA managing director Lorraine Poulos, the panel includes Dr Claire Gough, research fellow, Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia and Simon Kerrigan, managing director at Guide Healthcare. The discussion will cover government-funded guidelines for new programs, explore the risks of inaction and the greatest opportunities for improving wellbeing and care outcomes for older adults.
As a longtime advocate for positive ageing strategies, Dr Henwood is hopeful the aged care sector increasingly sees the value in joining the growing movement.
“My whole life has been standing on a soapbox trying to get this out there. I think it is the answer, but it’s been washed away by treatments, cares, medications and things like that for decades and decades. I’m hoping more people will start to see that this is either the answer or it’s part of the answer for their clients, and we’ll see more of this sort of practice embedded into people’s treatment plans.”
Positive Ageing Summit is an initiative of Australian Ageing Agenda and Community Care Review – read our coverage of the event here and find out more on the Positive Ageing Summit 2025 website
As a long term advocate for positive ageing, and also examining the concept through an Honours dissertation, I would like the AAA audience to also recognise counselling as a valid service to support wellbeing of older adults. I am in that group of people who are ageing and will continue to lobby for the the recognition of counselling.