Improving Health and Wellbeing in Midlife

1
Crisis What Crisis?

• Improving Health and Well-being in Mid-life

2
Who are we?

• emphasis on midlife and health organised by the
  Health Development Agency in partnership with
  East Midlands Tomorrow

3
Why target midlife?

• I think at my age (55 years) youre in a
  group of the forgotten really. You know they do
  an awful lot for younger people and children and
  once you get over a certain age as a pensioner,
  then you get a lot more support. But I think for
  my age group theres not a lot going on you know,
  were sort of forgotten really.

4
Why target midlife?

• The Gap Years rediscovering midlife as the
  route to healthy active ageing Bowers, H,
  Secker, J, Llanes, M, Webb, D (2003)
  www.hda.nhs.uk
• September 2001 to September 2003

5
Why target midlife?

• Headline Findings
• Distinct generation with particular needs and
  preferences
• Time for multiple change and transition
• People wanted opportunity to reflect and plan for
  the future
• Requires a strategic approach that joins up
  services across sectors

6
Policy Context

• Health Inequalities
• Cost
• Choosing Health?
• Improving Services
• The Regional Agenda
• Long Term Conditions
• Retirement and Workplace

7
Policy Context

• Health trainers will be able to offer people a
  health stocktake, to help them assess how their
  way of life might be impacting on their health
  and the sorts of changes that might be beneficial
  to them. This can be an effective way of
  preventing further inequalities in health
  through, for example, identifying people who may
  be at risk of developing chronic diseases or
  supporting people with existing chronic
  conditions. This sort of approach has been shown
  to be effective in work with people in their 50s
  an age at which people often begin to
  experience illnesses that can develop into
  chronic disease and a time when peoples
  motivation to improve their own health increases.
  By equipping people with the skills to look after
  their own health and providing them with support
  when it is needed, local services and health
  trainers can make a real impact in helping people
  to live longer and healthier lives. (DH, 2004a)

8
Ageing and Demographic Change

• EMT Report
• 20 over pension age 2021
• Rural areas 1/3 over 60 2021
• Dependency ratio29.7 to 37.8 2020
• Demographic changes requires a positive response
  to the needs of the maturing workforce
• There needs to be a more educated and
  better-trained workforce to deal with the
  changing employment structure within the region.
• Older workers need to re-package and update their
  skills and self promotion
• Traditional concept of retirement needs to change
• Employers need to recognise importance and value
  of ageing and motivated workforce

9
East Midlands Scoping Review
10
Key Recommendations
East Midlands Scoping Review

• Mid-life needs to be a new focus on the older
  peoples agenda, where the emphasis has
  traditionally been on the frailties of old age
  and dependency.
• An East Midlands Mid-life Ageing Forum would
  assist future strategic direction and allow
  sharing of good practice.
• Local action plans should aim to reduce health
  inequalities by addressing the determinants of
  ill-health and meet the needs of people in
  mid-life living in poverty.
• Practical help should be provided for people to
  plan and develop strategies for understanding and
  managing change in mid-life , including financial
  planning.
• A range of public services is required
  encompassing information, advice, specific
  interventions, physical and social activities,
  and opportunities for learning and education
  tailored to mid-life workers.
• Employment policies need to recognise the
  contribution older people can make by eliminating
  age discrimination, introducing more flexible
  working arrangements and continuing investment in
  training and education for people in mid-life.

11
What can we do?

• Finding effective ways of engaging with this age
  group
• Working with other agencies and sectors to
  develop joint initiatives and to refer or
  signpost people to existing services
• Developing ways of working in different settings,
  eg workplace, community, primary care
• Addressing health inequalities through developing
  initiatives in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and
  targeting hard-to-reach groups.
• Language is an important issue when developing
  initiatives and services to meet the different
  needs of people in mid-life.

12
Resources

• Bowers, H., Secker, J., Llanes, M. and Webb, D.
  (2003) The gap years rediscovering mid-life as
  the route to healthy active ageing. London
  Health Development Agency.
• East Midlands Tomorrow (2004) Ageing and
  demographic change. Nottingham East Midlands
  Tomorrow Network.
• HDA (2003) Making the case improving the health
  and wellbeing of people in mid-life and beyond.
  London Health Development Agency.
• HDA (2004) Improving health and well-being for
  people aged 5065. Scoping exercise for the East
  Midlands Region. London Health Development
  Agency.
• HDA (2005a) Taking action at a local level.
  London Health Development Agency, in press.
• HDA (2005b) Measuring impact improving the
  health and wellbeing of people in mid-life and
  beyond. London Health Development Agency, in
  press.

13
Questions you can ask yourselves?

• What level of data is available about the local
  mid-life population?
• Has a local health needs assessment been
  conducted about the requirements and preferences
  for this age group
• What level of sub group data is available for
  this age group eg numbers from BME
• How far is mid-life regarded as a distinct
  target health population by policy makers and
  those commissioning services in the Trust?
• Are partners from other sectors involved in
  planning activities and services for this age
  group?
• Is the target group appropriately represented in
  local user involvement /patient participation
  strategies to plan and monitor services?
• Are training courses available for staff on
  engaging with mid-life population

14
Questions you can ask yourselves?

• Are free health checks available for people in
  mid-life in primary care settings, workplace and
  community settings?
• Is financial information and advice available to
  people in mid-life?
• Are available services and courses equally
  accessible to all people in mid life with respect
  to culture, language, physical and mental
  ability?
• Does your current strategy for self care of long
  term conditions provide targeted information,
  advice and interventions aimed at mid-life
  populations?
• What are the barriers to working with this age
  group?
• What additional support is required to develop
  this work further?

15
Why Target Midlife?

• Ive found that I do have a voice and that
  people are prepared to sit and listen to me and
  Im also able to listen to other people as
  well..so my mental health has really improved a
  great deal.