Finland’s population is ageing rapidly and innovative actions are needed to improve the wellbeing and functional capacity of older people living at home. Promoting healthy and social eating is one important development target, as it helps improve older people’s health and quality of life. In addition, services supporting healthy and social eating make it possible for older people to live at home for as long as possible, which they also often prefer. Promoting living at home also slows down the increase of future social and health care costs.
Goals
The project aims:
- to support older adults’ healthy eating, ability to function and sense of community.
- to develop multiform food related services for older adults living at home.
- to promote multisectoral regional collaboration to develop local food related services.
This project’s key concept multiform food related services refers to a wide range of services which enable health-promoting food choices for older adults living at home.
The multiform food related services include:
- food services
- grocery stores
- food delivery services
- online food ordering applications
- transportation – access to food services
- assisting, advisory and counselling services.
In optimal cases, all these services are designed by user-centred approach also from older adults’ perspective so that their own residential area would provide services that are of high quality, attractive, acceptable and affordable.
Target group
This project aims to develop food related services especially for older adults living at home. They are people over the age of 65 in good condition or people with some illnesses and fragility, but without regular need for help in their everyday life.
In addition, special attention is paid to the service needs of older adults in particular risk of having eating habits that do not promote wellbeing and ability to function, such as
- newly retired
- newly widowed
- people living alone
- people with impaired cognition or functional capacity.
The Ikäruoka 2.0 project aims to promote older adults’ healthy and social eating in different residential districts – urban areas, countryside – by developing services and service models in regional multisectoral collaboration.
Photo: Xamk