Prevention measures elderly people: DC Noise in Stadskanaal
The demonstration project “Prevention measures elderly people: DC Noise in Stadskanaal” was presented during the partner meeting in October 2008. The aim of the pilot is to inform elderly people about measures that can help to improve their health and to avoid accidents and thus to decrease the demand of health care.
The pilot is supposed to support the elderly staying independently in their own homes as long as possible. Providing information about preventive measures, it helps to stimulate self-dependence and –reliance of elderly people. This is particularly important since people grow older while the level of facilities - especially in smaller town centres - is decreasing.
Because personal contact is an important issue for elderly people house calls are an essential part of the pilot. So the elderly can ask for all the information they need, on the other hand it becomes clear where a need for action exists. Additionally the pilot works with questionnaires to identify the elderlies’ needs. The activities and the results of the project are intended to be part of the regular work of the office for elderly people.
The home visits are done by volunteers because the target group is too big for personal visits by professionals. Only with volunteers it is possible to reach a large group of people from 70 to 74 years. The volunteers have about the same age as the people they visit.
For the moment there are no actions that have to be taken by the Stichting Welstad. They stress that the pilot focuses on the today’s demand of elderly people. Apart from their own activities the partners will investigate other possible methods from other regions how an early signalising of risks can be ensured.
