Total dependency is no-one’s goal, say consumers
Older people want to age well, and providers have to meet them in the middle by delivering person-centred and rights-centred care that doesn’t teeter into well-intentioned ageism, summit hears.
The afternoon session of day 2 of the Positive Ageing Summit delivered a welcome consumer perspective on holistic ageing by self-described social justice warrior and “heretic” Vector Consultants director Judith Leeson and Council of Elders chair Anne Burgess.
Both reminded the audience that total dependency is not something older people strive for, but well-intentioned carers often perceive older people as frailer than they are – discouraging them from healthy risk-taking.
Acknowledging that it wasn’t a scientific approach, Ms Burgess said her formula for positive ageing is “two P’s and an F,” standing for purpose, people and fun; three things she is concerned will be neglected when the Commonwealth Home Support Program gets absorbed into Support at Home.
This is a recognised concept though, with BallyCara executive chairman Marcus Riley telling the PAS audience that the McKinsey Health Institute lists having purpose in life as the number one priority in wellness.
He added that the challenge for providers is to consider the fluidity of ageing and to see the whole person.
For Ms Leeson, who hasn’t yet reached her reablement goal of being able to walk independently from her walker, aged care providers are not doing enough to foster multidisciplinary teams or to encourage their home care workers to actively engage with clients.
“In the early stages, if you’re supporting someone, the first thing that you need to do is develop some rapport with them and help them to identify a meaningful goal,” she said.
“Look at what their purpose in life was, ask them to talk about their values and then see how something can be offered that will enable them to be more effective in their area of choice.”
“You build trust when you listen and when you respond kindly,” Ms Leeson added. “And what I would like to say is that with every intervention, if it’s delivered with compassion, with kindness and with empathy, the intervention will be more successful than if it is not.”
Risk factors for social isolation, loneliness
This concern for the rate of social isolation, loneliness and disconnection amongst older people echoed what former entertainer and The SeniorsChannel founder Julie Hogarth-Williams and creative elder engagement specialist Maurie Voisey-Barlin discussed on day 1 of PAS.
“The two biggest risk factors for social isolation and loneliness is one, that you are aged over 65 and two, that you live alone. In Australia, 1.2 million people over the age of 65 live alone,” said Ms Hogarth-Williams.
To ensure the whole person flourishes and lives well, the needs of love, belongingness, self-esteem, self-actualisation and human contact are also needed, added Mr Voisey-Barlin.
Ms Hogarth-Williams agreed and said when talking about reablement, the sector should be looking at the whole person and start viewing self-actualisation, esteem needs, love and belongingness as vital elements. Also, the sector employing people with the expertise to tackle complex psychosocial needs should be standard.
“The first thing we need to do is put social isolation and loneliness on the agenda. It needs to be recognised as a critical issue, one that demands the same strategic focus and funding as physical health and aged care reform. The second thing is we need to embrace innovation. Technology holds enormous potential to transform how we connect with older people,” she said.
“And the third thing we need to do is to collaborate. No single organisation, provider or government agency can solve this alone. We need aged care providers, community organisations, health services, tech innovators and most importantly our elders at the table.
“We need shared goals, shared language and shared ownership. We believe that this is the most important point of all. We all need to work together.”
‘Listen to us and value our opinions’
Ms Burgess similarly expressed the need for older people to be involved and to feel heard by the providers who care for them.
“Older people need the platform, need the opportunity, need to feel competent, need to feel that people want to listen to us and value our opinions – and that we can be influential,” she said.
Ms Leeson agreed, telling the audience that she wants to have purpose and maintain her sense of self.
“My prime reason for actively seeking out reablement services is that I’m gradually becoming my husband’s carer as his symptoms of Alzheimer’s become more apparent. But also, I wish to retain my identity as a professional woman in my life of purpose, in my life of service and to be an independent advocate of holistic… evidence-based practice in the aged care sector.”
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
