Enhancing Resilience
So, how do we improve a person’s resilience? The last activity showed how factors influencing a person’s resilience vary depending on context. Therefore, you need to identify culturally and contextually meaningful resources and support. For this section, ask the students to position themselves as healthcare providers helping the older person and their caregiver navigate and negotiate the resources needed to improve resilience. This means helping them identify and engage with physical, psychological, social or spiritual resources and support and connecting them with available resources or services they need.
Activity 8
As a healthcare provider, look at the internal and external factors relevant to the person’s resilience from the previous activity. Then:
- identify services the older person needs or say they need to be resilient.
- how can you help improve their experiences with the services?
- Look at the case from the person’s culture and context. What strategies can you use to improve their resilience that are specific to their culture?
- how does the healthcare service structure where you work affect the older person’s access to the health resources needed to build and maintain resilience?
As an alternative activity, The World Health Organization published a report, “The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing: Plan of Action 2021-2030,” which included indicators for healthy ageing based on relevant Sustainable Development Goals. Below are six of the eleven goals and their indicators. Look at the answers from Activity 8 and see if they are aligned with the goals. You can further the discussion by identifying any missing or irrelevant factors and indicators.
UN Decade of Healthy Ageing: Plan of Action 2021–2030
| Goal 1: No Poverty | Preventing older people from experiencing poverty through various safety nets (e.g., social security system, pension plans, and access to healthcare and social services) |
| Goal 2: No Hunger | Preventing older people from falling into food insecurity and fostering their independence |
| Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being | Through universal health coverage and integrated, people-centred, and transformative systems, older individuals can continue actively contributing to society and have access to good health. |
| Goal 4: Quality Education | Allowing older people to exercise their skills, knowledge and value in order to maintain their identity and independence. |
| Goal 5: Gender Equality | Seeking gender equality in various areas (e.g., economic, social participation, workforce, access services) to improve life outcomes. |
| Goal 10: Reduce Inequalities | Overcoming unequal access to services, which often is influenced by older people’s social categories (e.g., gender, ethnicity, level of education) |
Adapted from: World Health Organization. (2024). UN Decade of Healthy Ageing: Plan of Action 2021–2030. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/decade-of-healthy-ageing/decade-proposal-final-apr2020-en.pdf?sfvrsn=b4b75ebc_28
Activity 9
Consider the goals and indicators and their relevance to older persons’ physical, psychological and social resilience. You can use the table provided or the report’s full eleven goals and indicators. Compare the answers from Activity 8 to the goals and indicators and see whether they are aligned.
For an extra activity, do a self-reflection and the previous activity to see what factors and resources you need to be resilient. As the factors may vary depending on the context, think about the challenges you face at home, school, and work. For example, when facing work challenges, you might need a cohesive team, positive support from the management, or clear work boundaries. This might not be the case for challenges at school or home.
Activity 10
Do a self-reflection. Think about yourself, your challenges, and the factors/ support/ resources that make you resilient. Also, think about your identity and how it influences the challenges you are facing and the factors relevant to your resilience.