This project builds on a recently implemented EU-funded project: Active-Ageing PPS and aims to overcome the dilemmas, and challenges the PPS project identified by some partial results. Partial result 1 PPS: Many elderly in many countries, have understood the message about the importance of Active Ageing. There are variations depending on how many years different countries have actively campaigned and conveyed the importance of Active Ageing. However, many seniors are active and involved in a wide variety of activities. Dilemma The challenge is that it is not enough to be "Active" as a senior, if the activities don`t have the right quality and aim at maintaining or improving specific physical and mental parameters. Danish studies published by the Danish National Board of Health shows, that the average lifespan increases significantly in Denmark as it does in most EU countries at the moment. However, the Danish studies show that the prolonged life on average for most seniors increase the number of years/ extend the period to senior citizens where they will be dependent on care and assistance. In practice this means that the physical activities, the senior citizens have understood they must do, are not performed with sufficient determination and quality so they actually get value from their Active Aging approaches and efforts; in the form of more years - and more years of independence. Partial result 2 of PPS. Through a study carried out by the six countries participating in the PPS project of 500 seniors, filling in questionnaires and taking part in focus groups, 85% of the involved seniors answered that they " probably would not join, if they were offered, a course or shorter training focusing on: • Gaining knowledge about a new understanding aging • Getting scientific knowledge of what to do and how, concretely as senior citizen, to maintain or expand health and physical strength in old age, to preserve independence and autonomy as long as possible in an even longer life. Their reasons for not enrolling in such courses or training were: I think I know what there is to know about aging and the aging process, so I probably will not be interested and spend time / prioritize such a course. When a group of these seniors nevertheless agreed to participate in a course because they were involved in the PPS project, they all stated after the course; • Had no idea there was so much to know about the aging process and there were so great perspectives in "gaining a new understanding of the aging process. • Did not know I had such great personal opportunity to strengthen the potential for not only adding years to life but that it is these specific 8 parameters that are so decisive for whether these extra years will be as independent and autonom or as dependent on the assistance and care. Since the involved seniors had completed the course, offered via the PPS project 90% of the participating 80 seniors, applied immediately to be tested according to these 8 parameters and retested three months later. 3 month later the majority of the seniors had increased clearly their strength in these key 8 physical and mental parameters. The dilemma was and is still that these seniors would never have reacted this if they had not been informed about the possibility to participate in such a course/process, according to their own statements. The dilemma was and is still that many seniors do not have the prerequisites to understand the information conveyed to them through campaigns and health-related information on websites and in various brochures. How to train 80% of maximum oxygen uptake - when you do not know what your maximum oxygen uptake approximately is when one is 78 years old? The overall objective of this project are: To explore and develop an understanding and a strategy how to communicative the general public of senior citizens with information that, 1) Penetrates through the assumption of many seniors "that we know enough about being old and getting old" and make it so interesting that it will motivate seniors to apply and gain this new knowledge actively through participation in informal adult education activities. To succeed to communicate the major socio-economic and educational diversification of the senior group. Not only reaching the easygoing seniors who always respond quickly to new. 2) To convert the results and documentation of health care and training professional scientific studies into an understandable educational content + test for all seniors so it becomes performative for the participating seniors. The seniors will be able to action translate their learning not to increase the qualification of their Active aging efforts. 3) That this communication is professionally qualified, mediated via Peer to Peer method by trained seniors. 4) Developing a web-based senior health profiling system based on the crucial parameters for the preservation of autonomy and independence.
The 2 year project BePreSeL(Better Preparation for Senior Life) ended the 30th of september 2019. The project was based on a danish initiative due to a cooperation between SOSU Østjylland and AOF Skanderborg Odder and they were joint by Universita`delle LiberEta`del Fvg from Italy, Uniwercytet Jagiellonski (3rd Age Univercity) from Krakow Poland and Ljudska Univerza Ptuj. SOSU Østjylland is a vocational school in the area of social and health, especially edcuating students for senior care and health promotion among elderly. All other partners are characterized by offering different kind of courses and sparetime activities to public and particularly to senior citisens.The background for the BePreSel project was part a previous EU project named Peer to Peer focusing on voluntering Elderly and an increasing awareness that elderly don`t seem be benefit, when it comes to health status practising the concept of "Active Ageing". More and more elderly are more and more active during senior years, but it does not reduce their demand for nursery and care later in life as it was expected back in the 1980ths when the Concept Active Ageing become policy and was implemented in the first european countries. Documented latest in a Danish report summing up the results of more than 40 years of investments building up faciliteis to perform and awareness to perform the Active Ageing concept.The approach in the BePreSeL project was more or less, that the reason that seniors and societies can`t see any huge effect of practicing the Active Ageing Concept, is caused by a misunderstanding among seniors and their surroundings what it means "to be active". 1st challenge is very basic that to many believe, that being active - that the activity in it self maintain health and physical competences. The second challenge was and still are, that senior citisens don`t have a knowledge based understanding and approach to their own ageing process. To many seniors (and their surroundings) still have an understanding and approach to the ageing process based on myth, wrong assumptions and a long cultural history and experience, telling and showing that being older is to become weaker and loose once independency.During the 2 years project period, the partnership developed a course of 12 to 16 lessons, presenting and explaining 8 key physical areas and competences, which according to the Danish National Health Board is the key areas and competences to focus on if we want to understand why much to many seniors, much to soon and totally unnessecarily slides slowly into dependency - lossing their selfgovernance and independent way of living.As a part of the couse the senior participants were offered to be tested to know the present status according to these 8 physical parametres.A Senior health Curriculum and all the beloning educational material + teacher guidelines was developed and adapted to the expereinces performing the content during the course. This material are now acceible at www.bepresel.dkMore than 100 seniors signed for and participated in the 8 test courses offered and conducted during feb to june in 2019, by different methodologies(models) of the different partners. The participants evaluation showed in any way, that there is a huge need for proper scientific based knowledge about the ageing process about the ageing period. More than 9 out of 10 expressed among many positive feed backs that the have learned a lot, that they very surprised about the fact that there is so much knowledge about ageing and the ageing process.It was also recognised among the partners, that even there is a big lack of knowledge among seniors about the ageing process, and that it will be a challenge to convince and motivate seniors for this kind of courses - and mostly the seniors who might be in the biggest need for a Better Preparation for Senior Life. As a contribution to overcome this challenge there is developed a document named STRATEGY - Launching educational programs to promote A BEtter PREparation for SEnior Life. reach out A key aspect of the project was to release the Peer to Peer effect. Our approach was to use senior educators and if it was needed to educate and train volunteering seniors. As basis for this preparation of seniors to become teachers at this senior health course, the partnership developed a Senior Pedagogical Curriculum.To point out the rationale behind and all the perspectives of preparing our seniors and future senior better for senior life, a brief presentation and description of the idea, all the beloning educational material, are presented in the CONCEPT of BEPRESEL aiming distribution to relevant stake holders and further on by stakeholders.All the outputs 1;The Strategy.2; The Senior Health Curriculum and belonging material.3; The Senior Pedagogical Curriculum and finally the output 5; The BEPRESEL Concept are accessible at the final project out put 4; The BEPRESEL PLATFORM at www.bepresel.eu