Creative ambitions: Healthy ageing project could start a movement | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

A very simple creative project at the University of the Sunshine Coast has hit on a winning formula for improving the lives of older Australians.

The participants simply met to walk and take photos together. After eight weeks, they were moving faster, forming new relationships, finding their creative passion and skills, and being motivated to try new things and get outdoors.

Dr Tricia King, Dr Daniel Wadsworth and Dr Leah Barclay led the Photo Walk pilot project aiming to boost creativity and movement in older adults, in partnership with in-home care provider Comlink Australia.

A similar project was held in residential aged care last year with Regis.

The outcomes have been so positive, the researchers believe it could be rolled out across Queensland.

Beryl Roberts, age 79, said all the walking had reduced her reliance on a walker due to arthritis.

“I was supposed to have a knee replacement, but my fitness has improved so much, that’s off the cards now,” she said.

“It’s been an absolutely wonderful experience. These walks were an avenue to better health and better fitness. I’m the most observant I’ve ever been in my life.

“I just want to photograph everything. I encourage everybody, get out there with a camera, explore your environment.”

UniSC Photography Lecturer Dr Tricia King said that during visits to aged care centres as a documentary photographer, she was noticed that residents were not often using cameras, which inspired her research in creative arts health practices.

“We take photographs of important moments in our lives, and I don’t think that happens often enough as people age,” Dr King said.

“Taking the time to notice how the green of the tree is juxtaposed against the beautiful blue sky really helps connect you to your place and your surroundings. When residents can’t go outside anymore, others can bring those prints back in. It really is a case of stopping to smell the roses,” she said.

“For many of them, they had become much less social over recent years, many feeling the effects of losing a partner, and so the project became a safe opportunity to connect again.”

Dr King said photography was a language that everyone knew, and that made it highly accessible and therefore the perfect medium to connect people.

“Overwhelmingly, social connection is the biggest thing they have enjoyed about this project, alongside their expanded love of photography and their increased movement.”

The group visited Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, Maroochy Botanic Gardens and the Maroochy Wetlands as part of their field trips to explore the photo walks at some of the accessible nature reserves on the Sunshine Coast.

The photos they gathered during their visits will feature in an exhibition from Tuesday 26 September at the Vitality Village, Birtinya.

The exhibition is an important moment for the group, who curated the images together so they could showcase their work. They also showcased their skills by leading a photo walk at UniSC’s Sunshine Coast campus to mark the launch of the Australian Association of Gerontology’s new Creativity, Art and Design special interest group.

Senior Lecturer in the School of Health Dr Dan Wadsworth said the success of the project provided some clear evidence that could be fed back to nationwide collaborative studies on mental health and ageing in regional areas, including through the Manna Institute where he is a Postdoctoral Fellow.

“The beauty of such a simple project is it’s giving people social connection, movement and creativity – as well as a sense of competence, relatedness and autonomy,” he said.

“By promoting physical activity for purpose and connection, the project provided all participants with the opportunity and motivation to remain active. For some though, it provided considerable physical and functional challenges, the benefits of which are being felt across their day-to-day lives. This may be a small activity, but we’ve seen how it could improve people’s long-term health outcomes.

“There is scope here for enormous impact on the health of Australians because a huge proportion of the older population is either lonely, socially isolated, depressed or all of the above – and these are all risks for dementia and cardiovascular disease.”

UniSC Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett, an internationally recognised gerontology researcher, said healthy ageing research is vital to address the consequences of population ageing in Australia, where more than 400,000 people are currently receiving residential aged care or home care packages and the demand for such services continues to rise.

“The increasing physical and mental health impacts associated with older age such as social isolation and decreased mobility are now recognised, including for older people living in regional and rural Australia,” Professor Bartlett said.

“We know that many Australians want to maintain active and social lives well into later life, but they don’t always have the opportunities or know where to start.

“By partnering with industry to develop and test new ideas, we are able to improve the way older Australians access activities that inspire and empower enjoyable later years – and this aligns with our commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the goal of Good Health and Wellbeing.”