Strategic Planning as the Core of Active and Healthy Ageing Governance: A Case Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Active and Healthy Ageing Conceptualization
2.2. Active and Healthy Ageing and Governance Strategies
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Sample and Procedure
3.2. Data Analysis
4. Results
4.1. Strategic Plans’ Analysis
4.2. Interview Analysis
4.2.1. Strategic Plan: Origin and Context
“The plan was devised long ago but in 2017/2018, with the change of teams and staff, we ended up adapting it then and again during the pandemic. I’m in the current team and now is the right time for a new assessment and plan because all these changes put in evidence new problems and new necessities. Something that delayed us a little bit is the current change of cabinets and the ongoing transference of competencies in the social and health areas. In the field of health, the transference of competences encompasses one of those vectors, precisely active ageing (…) This strategic plan was the basis to create current local policies rather than the common one-day stand activity for festivities. The concern was already there, some of the issues were being targeted but without any concerted action with other policies”.(M1)
“The plan was elaborated between 2017 and 2018 and implemented from 2018 onwards by the Social Services Division, also responsible for the Social Development Plan. The Integrated Municipal Plan for Ageing was tailored specifically to older persons who were not properly contemplated by any action, namely two different types: those in vulnerable territories and in isolation and those who were recently retired and that could profit from some activities not yet outlined”.(M2)
“This strategy embodies our main mission as local government, which is taking care of people, not only who lives here, but also who visit and work here. It is very important to display our intentions, objectives, and missions through strategies in different key areas. This is a vital document for any intervention, especially in the field of social and human sciences”.(M3)
“This plan is an update of our geriatric plan, its second version following the first taking place between 2012 and 2017. From 2020 and 2021, there was a delay due to the pandemic but, at the same time, that was when most of the information of the plan was assessed. Recognizing the rise of the senior population as partaking of the community and not as a segment aside, this plan received excellent feedback from the local assembly which considered it an example of good practices”.(M4)
“This type of plan allows us to promote a holistic vision of the ageing process, according to three paradigms: the first one, fostering a successful, healthy and active ageing process, disseminating a positive image of the older person and her social participation; the second to give priority to communitarian responses of care that promote autonomy and independence rather than institutionalization and the third is to invest in action research to create our know-how pushing us further and further. The work here has an empirical basis and it was a long and detailed prequel to the policies”.(M1)
“This integrated plan for ageing aims at defining strategies and activities attuned to the specific needs of older persons while fostering their activity, independence and, above all, their quality of life”.(M2)
“This document focuses on outlining principles and actions for active ageing that cannot be thought through in a vacuum. An intergenerational perspective is needed also capitalizing the youth plan”.(M3)
“The first plan and the subsequent updates respond and counteract the so-called grey boom that implies looking to older persons as a key piece of society, not a demographics aside”.(M4)
“The local power organics is going through some changes and as soon as we close the team I will also integrate it since I am the only gerontologist in the municipality and am responsible for the senior issues. I hope that with the transference of the competencies and with a sufficient organization I can strengthen my team and achieve more”.(M1)
“The strategic plan was thought out together with several departments of the municipality, including technicians from the fields of sports, culture, health, and tourism. The entities and support services to older persons from the municipality (8 institutions) tend to promote activities targeting the elder, such as walks, tours, grandmothers’ day, and tournaments of several sports. All the institutions are therefore fundamental as mediators of the dialogue between citizens and the local power”.(M2)
“Several institutions of social solidarity were involved, including their technicians, directors, social assistants, and psychologists. We also had insight from universities of the third age in the municipality whose students highlighted how important was for them to partake in this dialogue. Furthermore, we have learned a lot from our experience devising a strategy for youth and followed some of the methodologies”.(M3)
“In the Local Council of Social Action (CLAS) that includes our social partners, local government presidents, social services division, health and school matters departments a debate was promoted and provided an important empirical basis for the geriatric plan”.(M4)
4.2.2. Plan Development
“We conducted document analysis of other strategic plans, mainly from Spain and South America, countries that potentially cultural similarities (…) not only the content but the process itself”.(M1)
“We contacted and surveyed our partners from CLAS and included their questions and concerns. We presented it to the public but particularly to those who had contributed, a very interesting circular process”.(M2)
“It is important to provide feedback to those who contributed”.(M2)
“Although is not mandatory, we prefer to present it to all and obtain political approval”.(M4)
4.2.3. Challenges
“For example, one of our responses is called “Senior Forum” which consists of visiting several communities and addressing certain themes (…) during the pandemic we kept this initiative but did it by phone. Here the social services of the municipality and the senior community have a close relationship which facilitated the process (…) the gerontologic plan also benefited from the project “Idade Maior” which fostered, among other things, the Tele assistance, made possible by the proximity and a familiar connection between the seniors and our social assistants”.(M4)
“During the 2 years of the pandemic, the senior sport was one of the activities, yet very circumstantial, with the number of participants significantly lowering since people were afraid of contracting the virus. They tried to proceed with those activities that did not require a great number of people. Currently, we are trying to follow up the practices of the strategic plan for ageing but slowly. One of the initiatives we adapted to an online context was the social program ‘My retirement and I’, a project thought for people over 55 years old that intends to promote financial literacy. These alternative ways, despite not being foreseen in the plan, were important to keep people active and train some technological and digital skills. We have also invested in a newspaper with articles exclusively written by these people”.(M2)
“The lack of human resources is a serious problem, especially when time is against us and work always takes a little bit longer because it is a large municipality with a very extensive network. We want everyone to collaborate, the municipality was very open to proceeding with this and we wanted to do it properly but sometimes it is hard to congregate efforts”.(M1)
“Stakeholders are very different and the population of the municipality is heterogeneous with great asymmetries in each one of the territories, with extremely urban and extremely rural places. Considering this heterogeneity, the municipality tried to adapt the characteristics following the specificities of several territories, hence they ended up having a preponderant role in the organization and practice of the activities in the strategic plan as the closer entity. For example, in more urban places, walks usually gathered many people whereas, in more rural places lunches are preferred, it depends on the dynamics and characteristics of the territories”.(M2)
“The gerontologic plan points out directions that we need to respect to then further develop policies of local development. There is no need to insist on our social security institutions of nursing homes to expand their capacities if we know in advance that our seniors do not want to be there. Otherwise, if the seniors are receptive to being assisted at home, this can be one of the possible responses”.(M3)
4.2.4. Specific Initiatives
“We have the program “Movement and Wellbeing” included in the series of physical activity, sports, and active participation of older persons with around 150 older persons. This is in the axis related to intervention mechanisms in the promotion of active ageing and physical activity. Another example is the program Emilia, of digital capacitation, located in 32 spots, and the program Movement and Well-being based on programs of gymnastics and hydro gymnastics. With the pandemic, we suspended everything and create one called the ‘Lighthouse’, aimed at keeping in touch with older persons, by phone and zoom almost immediately after the first shutdown (…) All has to be based on a method and a given strategy with mensurable aspects”.(M1)
“We devote a lot of attention in our intervention characterized by care and respect of older persons. Our project ‘Caring’ involves a team of experts in social services, psychology, and sociology, who accompany people who are currently in isolation. Proximity is a key concept also in a related project ‘Movement is Life’ that involves physical activities carried by physical activities teachers more than 65 years old. Overall, older persons have access to physical education classes as well as physiotherapists, professors, occupational therapists, and nurses”.(M3)
“We could not implement all the strategies and measures of the first geriatric plan in recent years, only a few. All plans have guidelines but social circumstances may impair or facilitate the implementation. This one, in particular, is connected to the local strategy for health currently being elaborated with the University of Aveiro. Ideally, if the strategic health plan is implemented as foreseen, the measures of the gerontologic plan will be adapted accordingly for a healthier and more active senior population more integrated into the community. It is our responsibility to provide the citizens with the possibility of living inserted in their communities and ageing at home, capacitating not only older citizens but also their relatives (…) if we do not respect their expectations, they will not participate”.(M4)
4.2.5. Plans
“We are constantly raising seniors, each one of us is a potential senior, therefore we need to update these documents respecting the expectations and the life experiences of our seniors so they can continue active and contributing to society”.(M2)
“This plan will strengthen our political view on the necessary support for institutions of social security that are currently overwhelmed (…) It allows us to expand the social responses, apply to other funding and renegotiate the agreements with the social security (…) we know that they are not clients that want to stay in nursing homes, they are citizens who want to be supported within the contexts they are located. (…) No community can truly evolve and develop if we leave older persons aside, especially when there is a grey boom, we have to work for everyone”.(M4)
“I stand by the idea of creating policies, a line of work of depth and value, and not only celebrating special days. It should not end with our team, it must be a resource that anyone may replicate and carry on or adjust”.(M1)
5. Concluding Remarks
6. Limitation and Future Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Mission | Promoting an inclusive society committed to improving health, life quality, and elder well-being as well as their social participation as active citizens with a determinant role in the community |
Themes | Health and Physical and Mental Wellbeing Basic healthcare and life support Inclusion in the community Participation in the society Safety and housing comfort Access and Mobility Qualification of the organizations and social responsibility |
Methods | Collaborative methodologies that aggregate several data collection techniques with elder persons to include their expectations and opinions (e.g., surveys, interviews, thematic meetings, focus groups, debating groups). The methods are usually based on involving local actors, allowing a participatory approach of people and local entities |
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Santinha, G.; Soares, C.; Forte, T. Strategic Planning as the Core of Active and Healthy Ageing Governance: A Case Study. Sustainability 2023, 15, 1959. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031959
Santinha G, Soares C, Forte T. Strategic Planning as the Core of Active and Healthy Ageing Governance: A Case Study. Sustainability. 2023; 15(3):1959. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031959
Chicago/Turabian StyleSantinha, Gonçalo, Carolina Soares, and Teresa Forte. 2023. "Strategic Planning as the Core of Active and Healthy Ageing Governance: A Case Study" Sustainability 15, no. 3: 1959. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031959