Social Strategies
Uncovering Context to Empower Communities: A Realist Evaluation of ABCD and Older Adult Wellness in Singapore View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Wen Xuan Shaw, Robyn Tan
Increasingly, asset-based community development (ABCD) is recognised as improving health and wellness through building social connectedness and community capacity. However, how ABCD achieves these outcomes and the contextual factors that contribute to this process continue to be discovered. Adopting a qualitative realist evaluation, the study examines how ABCD promotes health and wellness among older adults in Singapore by exploring how healthcare practitioners utilise ABCD when engaging with individuals, communities, and other service providers. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 38 participants, including practitioners and senior residents, were conducted to identify the mechanisms driving ABCD, the context in which they operate, and the generated outcomes. Critically, it showed that the creation of resident-led, co-created, and centre-facilitated activities reflected not only the varying levels of senior participation in response to ABCD, but was shaped by the context - how practitioners co-shared spaces with residents and partnered service providers and calibrated each engagement to the stakeholders’ level of readiness. The creation of activities through intentional, graduated engagement and negotiations through relationships and physical space, with both senior residents and other service providers in the neighbourhood, is what spurs an improvement in social connectedness amongst seniors and drives the proliferation of ABCD within the locality. This paper calls for the appreciation of community and organisational contexts in facilitating community development involving older adults, for health and well-being.
The Housing Situation of Individuals Aging with Traumatic Brain Injury in Quebec, Canada: A Mixed-Methods Study
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Angéline Labbé, Marie-Ève Lamontagne, Manh Hung Nguyen, Mia Lapointe, Samuel Turcotte
Advancements in healthcare and rehabilitation have improved life expectancy for individuals living with traumatic brain injury (TBI), introducing new challenges in housing stability. This study portrays the housing situation of individuals with TBI in Quebec, Canada. Additionally, it explores their needs and preferences, as well as the facilitators and obstacles to achieving housing stability. A mixed-methods study was conducted in collaboration with a national organization that federates 13 regional associations serving people with TBI and promoting their quality of life. Adults with TBI members of an association (n=175) completed a questionnaire on their housing situation, the Residential Environmental Satisfaction Scale and the Housing Instability Risk Identification and Assessment. Semi-structured interviews (n=20) were also conducted with selected participants to further explore their housing experiences. A World Café on perceived facilitators and obstacles to housing stability for individuals with TBI was also realized with 19 key actors from across Québec. The study shows that 10% of individuals were at risk of housing instability. While 12% of individuals live with a relative, 18% rely on caregiver assistance and financial support to maintain their living arrangements. Individuals with TBI and key actors expressed serious concerns about the aging of both individuals and their caregivers, as well as limited access to and availability of personalized housing options. This study highlights the urgent need for innovative long-term housing solutions for individuals aging with TBI that provide tailored support and opportunity for healthy ageing.
The Role of Peer-Led, Place-Based Approaches to Healthy Ageing in Rural Communities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sean MacDermott, Steph Houghton
Place-based initiatives offer both opportunities and challenges for advancing healthy ageing in rural contexts, where social connection, engagement, and wellbeing can be shaped by complex and even contradictory community dynamics. Focusing on the implementation and evaluation of the Healthy Ageing Hub project in Victoria, Australia, this paper examines how collaborative, community-led approaches might create sustainable legacies and foster social connection. The Hub approach reveals how rurality produces distinctive patterns of social engagement shaped by both the strength and exclusivity of existing community networks. The rural context provided both advantages, such as direct influence and strong local relationships, and challenges, including the complexities of close-knit social dynamics. Findings revealed that while the Hub enhanced trust, communication, and collaboration among local organisations, it is still challenging to address the needs of some cohorts. The Hub project shows the importance of flexible, inclusive strategies tailored to rural contexts, emphasising the role of place-based, community-led models in supporting healthy ageing. The lessons learned offer practical insights for other rural communities seeking to build connected and inclusive environments for older adults. Ultimately, we argue for a nuanced approach to place-based program design that is attentive to hidden dynamics of power, belonging, and marginalisation within rural communities, in order to support more equitable and effective models of healthy ageing.
