Beyond IYOP - Journal of Family Studies

Beyond IYOP: Sustaining the programs developed in the International Year of Older Persons

Colleen Wilson
Director, Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Services, Jindera NSW

PP: 287 - 291

Article Text

As we enter the second half of the International Year of Older Persons, I am intrigued by the question of how many of the new initiatives will still be functioning 10 years from now, or 5 years, or even next year. By the end of this year, the federal and state governments, along with many other funding sources, will have sponsored the launch of a host of new programs aimed at improving the lot of older people, and I ask 'How much attention will have been paid to the continuation of all these new (and sometimes merely revamped) projects for senior adults?' So many good ideas for the promotion of good health and wellbeing for older people have been allowed to wind down after a promising start. So, what does it take to sustain the momentum of these healthy lifestyle projects for senior Australians, and what factors must be monitored in an effort to have the benefits of these programs continue to accrue to our society?

Having been involved in the setting up of many programs over the years, I feel I have yet to determine what the successful formula is, but I do know that philosophy and content, while crucial in the beginning, will not alone keep the program going.

My involvement with senior adult health and healthy lifestyle programs is currently through Healthy Lifestyle Health Promotion Services (as Director) and as President of the Nation Association for Gentle Exercise, among other things, but, initially, my involvement was through the Senior Adult Unit of the NSW Department of Health. The Senior Adult unit was created as a direct result of research in 1982, which featured a literature review of 'exercise and the elderly', compiled by the Northern Metropolitan (Sydney) Health Promotion Unit of the Health Commission of NSW. A year later, in conjunction with the Leisure Studies Department of the Ku-ring-gai College of Advanced Education, the Unit followed that initial research effort with a comprehensive research project on leisure and exercise patterns of senior adults. In late 1984 I was asked to become the director of the newly created Senior Adult Unit to address the findings of this research. The Unit was established specifically to promote a policy of improvement of health opportunities for the elderly.

The objectives adopted by the Unit (and considered just as relevant today) were:

To stimulate the over 50s population to improve their quality of life by the promotion of health awareness.
To provide opportunities to develop new personal relationships.
To encourage independence.
To provide opportunities for the pursuit and development of new interests and activities.
To educate the use of leisure time in ways most likely to promote wellbeing.
To encourage the development of self worth.
To encourage preparation for social changes in lifestyle.

The greatest perceived need, in meeting these objectives, was for the compilation and promotion of packages which would provide ideal environments for the fostering of physical, social and emotional health in the senior adult population.

It was also recognised that for the ongoing effectiveness of these packages, some pitfalls would have to be avoided - I did not entirely trust the old adage that 'a good product sells itself'. If programs are not fully supported during development they will fold, and the reasons might include any of the following:

The project Officer's employment may end through exhaustion of funds.
Training programs may be curtailed (again, generally through lack of funds).
Interest may wane - either (a) in the individual project officer (for a variety of reasons, but often as a result of being assigned to another new project), or (b) in the industry where competition between programs will force some to be abandoned.
Volunteerism - so many programs will rely on volunteers and, despite Australia's proud history of volunteers in the service of others, there is a limit to this remarkable resource.

Many of the programs instigated by the Senior Adult Unit are still around and providing great benefit to thousands of older adults, but others are not. It is informative therefore, to trace the development of successful programs in order to provide models for those programs which will be enthusiastically launched in this, the International Year of the Older Person.

The first program developed at the Senior Adult Unit was 'Vacations for Pleasure', (called Healthy Lifestyle Holidays at first), which still operates in many a community today. Vacations for Pleasure are designed along the lines of 'summer camp' or 'junior camps', but for older adults. They are of a week's duration, held at reasonably priced locations that provide a range of outdoor experiences such as walking, rowing, archery, and other similar activities. Participants are encouraged to avail themselves of the educational opportunities provided on topics such as nutrition, women's and men's health issues, safety in the home, foot care, keeping the memory keen, and a host of other topics of special interest or concern for senior adults.

The Vacations for Pleasure program was launched nationally (in 1984), and its continued success was assured through a commitment to the ongoing development of resources such as a promotional video and a manual on how to run a vacation. During the early development stage of the program, evaluative research was conducted on the outcomes. This showed that after completing a Vacation for Pleasure, more than half the participants substantially changed their lifestyle habits as a result of their experiences on the Vacation for Pleasure. Most of these 'Ex-campers' had subsequently taken up walking, enrolled in exercise classes (gentle exercises), or water-based fitness classes (aquafitness), and changed their diets and lifestyles. So effective and so popular were the vacation programs from the outset, that the Senior Adult Unit was obliged to conduct training courses so that other agencies could help the Unit satisfy the demand.

Among the new providers were community health and recreation specialists for several different agencies and, a most welcome additional body, the Australian College for Seniors with its extensive network of affiliations. Very quickly, an annual average of 40 Vacations for Pleasure programs were running, with 40 participants per Vacation, and a growing waiting list that precluded return patronage-people wanted to go again and felt that the waiting list was so long that they would have to do something about it themselves. Out of this dilemma came the 'Healthy Lifestyle Clubs'-totally managed by the 'graduates' of the Vacations program, and totally intent on consolidating the benefits gained, maintaining their motivation about lifestyle changes to which they had been introduced, and totally committed to repeating their experiences, even if they had to organise it themselves. Several of these 'Ex-campers' clubs were formed, and I was very proud when the Sydney chapter asked me to be their patron and to attend the social functions held to commemorate their individual and collective lifestyle revelations.

My most recent experience has been to attend a Vacation in a rural centre, not as the organiser, but as a volunteer guest instructor. This experience, 15 years after the inception of Vacations for Pleasure, confirmed for me, the power of intense yet pleasurable exposure to a multitude of healthy lifestyle practices and information. I saw again the potential of Vacations for Pleasure to change, for the better, and forever, the lifestyle habits of the participants also saw that the promotional film, the supplementary resources and especially the manual, are essential in the inauguration of the program into any new region-without the original commitment to inbuild a sustainability into Vacations for Pleasure, it may not have enjoyed the efficacy that it does today.

The second program in the 'Programs for Pleasure' stable at the Senior Adult Unit in the early 1980s, was Walking for Pleasure. Within two years of its introduction, there were 85 Walking for Pleasure Clubs throughout NSW with more than 6000 people enjoying regular walks with club-mates in their local areas. Massive media exposure was afforded the Walking for Pleasure concept and the results were instantaneous and long lasting. The then (1984) State Minister for Health, the Honourable Barry Unsworth, was shown on TV during Senior Citizens' Week, launching the Walking for Pleasure program, along with 3000 seniors in Martin Place, Sydney, who took part in the first 'official' walk. Walking for Pleasure Clubs (or equivalent groups) are still running in just about every state and territory in Australia, and, under the umbrella of the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, there are over 60 registered clubs still operating regular walks in NSW alone.

The Senior Adult Unit then introduced 'Activities for Pleasure' (1985), where a mix of activities similar to those of the Vacations for Pleasure curriculum, but instead of being on vacation, the participants attend short, one day sessions over a six week period at a local venue. Activities for Pleasure consists of five packages of activities suitable for senior adults - the 30 or more that have been developed range from cycling to painting, to Tai Chi and folk dance. The activities have been chosen so as to avoid an emphasis on the stereotypical activities usually offered to older persons, and each activity has a theoretical component as well as the practical activity. Activities for Pleasure, under one guise or another, is still an extremely popular and vital part of community living for a great number of older people throughout Australia.

Perhaps the greatest success story from the stable of Senior Adult Unit programs is Aquafitness - originally designed by the Unit exclusively for older persons, it has been eagerly adopted by all other age groups. Aquafitness launched the commercial company H20z which steadily grew as it provided equipment, materials, and training to the burgeoning fields of aquarobics and other water based fitness programs. H 2 0 z was followed by other private companies, and now Aquafitness is flourishing in every state and territory of Australia. Fitness leaders throughout Australia can qualify for accreditation in Aquafitness, and the concept continues to grow, to the point where inventors are adapting 'dry' gymnasium equipment to the watery element.

Gentle Exercise (for Pleasure) was the next major project launched by the Senior Adult Unit (1988), and it too was given appropriate support during its development, to ensure its continued progress into the field of preventive care for senior adults. An elaborate promotional package entitled 'Keep the Bounce in Your Step' was the centrepiece for promotion of Gentle Exercise. This video featured the 'Exercise Energisers'-a volunteer exercise demonstration team made up of people whose ages range from 50 to the late 80s. The team was formed in 1987 and travels far and wide to carry the health message and to demonstrate to and inspire audiences about the benefits of gentle exercise to older people. Gentle Exercise, and its accompanying promotional material, was launched over a decade ago as a Bicentennial Activity - the Exercise Energisers are still going strong, the video is still selling, and the concept of Gentle Exercise continues to flourish. There is now a National Association for Gentle Exercise (NAGE), which was formed in 1995 and which conducts training and accreditation courses for providers wishing to deliver formal gentle exercise instruction to older adults. This association also provides support and direction for those interested in the research and development of programs that encourage safe movements for older adults.

The Senior Adult Unit was disbanded in 1990, and, on the advice of the NSW Department of Health, privatised its services under the business name Healthy Lifestyle Health Promotion Services. I continued as director. New programs that were developed included Pre-retirement and Post-retirement Planning with major companies such as State Superannuation, GIO, Edvest, Department of Defence, and John Fairfax companies. Other programs which enjoyed constant demand were 'Fending off Forgetfulness' and 'Keeping the Memory Keen'.

Along with many of my colleagues, I promoted Gentle Exercise as a major healthy lifestyle program. However, I always felt that senior adults needed a new sport that was specifically designed to suit the fitness levels of most over 60s. I was very keen that it should be a ball game, as I was always intrigued as to whatever happened to old netball and basketball players. I challenged anybody who would listen to me, to design a walking game, based on netball and basketball, that would be suitable for older adults.

Ted Schwarzel, Vice President of the Panama (Sydney) Probus Club, took up the challenge, and in 1997, presented me with more than just a concept - he had the game rules drawn up, the court size, goal post dimensions, and his own ideas on a video to promote the game, which he called 'Shotball'. Since then Shotball has literally taken off - a regular 'competition' between Sydney teams, demonstrations of the game as far afield as Goulburn (to the Probus Convention), and Corowa on the NSW Victorian border, and, after some hard sell, a government grant of $10,000 was received from the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation to establish and promote the game. Shotball has been featured on the ABC TV show 'Quantum', and interest has already been engendered into South Australia, Queensland and Victoria from its humble origins in a suburban club in Sydney.

With the grant from the government and a judicious plan to utilise it, Shotball will enjoy the same road to success that the components of Programs for Pleasure enjoyed. The momentum has been established, but a 'critical mass' of teams is yet to be achieved. This is perhaps the first game for quite some time that has been designed especially for older participants. It is ideal, and yet I know that a long period of nurturing is ahead before the game can be considered established and self-perpetuating. Sustaining Shotball, or any other initiative in healthy lifestyles for older adults, is essential until it can become self-sustaining. Once a program is self-sustaining it will be able to grow and provide opportunities for more and more older Australians to enjoy a richer and more fulfilling lifestyle.