Creative ageing seminar in Canberra
Academics from the United States and Britain, together with the heads of three key Australian agencies, will gather in Canberra on 17 November to discuss creative ageing for Australians who live in rural and remote areas.
“Research shows that staying engaged in creative activities significantly improves overall health and helps to alleviate the depression that can afflict older people whose activities are restricted by the tyranny of distance,” said Gordon Gregory, executive director of the National Rural Health Alliance, which is organising the half-day event.
“Given the ageing profile of rural and remote Australia, we need to develop a new paradigm where, instead of seeing ageing as loss, we see it as something that involves gain. A growing body of research now shows that the ageing brain is not all a story of decline: It’s not ‘use it or lose it’ – it’s ‘use it and improve it’.”
Figures show Australia has an ageing population due largely to sustained low levels of fertility combined with increased life expectancy. Twelve per cent of the population in major cities are elderly, compared with 14% in regional and 7% in remote areas.
Thirty-five per cent of Australians aged 65 and older live outside major cities where access to aged care, health care and ancillary services is limited.
The Seminar, ‘From creative ageing to end-of-life in rural and remote Australia’, will see speakers provide evidence of the positive contributions local and outreach arts programs can make for creative ageing – and as support for overworked carers.
Visit http://nrha.ruralhealth.org.au/ for more information.
