«Rompiendo Distancias»: un programa integral para prevenir y atender la dependencia de las personas mayores en el medio rural

Abstract

Introduction and objectives elderly individuals living in rural areas have specific needs derived from their environment and the scarcity of resources available in these locations. A large part of Asturias, in Spain, is rural and its orographic characteristics hamper social participation and access to services. The present article presents the results of evaluation of an integral programme for rural areas in Asturias that aims to promote active ageing, the creation of new and nearby services to prevent and manage dependency and to increase social participation. Population and method breaking barriers, an innovative pilot project, was implemented in three rural areas with 9427 individuals aged more than 65 years old. The methodology was inspired in Research, Action and Participation (RAP). Work in the community was defined as the axis of the project and a design combining qualitative techniques (technical review committees, evaluation protocols, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats [SWOT] analysis) with quantitative techniques (surveys of users, families and health professionals, with the application of 684 questionnaires and analysis of the results using the SPSS statistical programme) was used to evaluate the results. Results in all territories new services were created (accessible transport, provision of technical supports, escort service, home meals service, mobile library, podology, newspaper delivery, etc.), which represented highly innovative initiatives. New associations with their respective community centres were created. Cultural activities, meetings, intergenerational programmes and voluntary initiatives were established. A total of 3219 elderly individuals, 169 families and 219 volunteers participated in the programme. All participants showed a high degree of satisfaction with the various initiatives implemented and with the development of the programme as a whole. The model of the intervention, based on community work guided by the principles of a cross-sector approach, coordination and flexibility has worked satisfactorily and has led to significant intersectorial involvement. Conclusions the utility of the network system established and the community focus of the intervention, to which we recommend that municipal social services return, has been demonstrated. The intervention has also achieved its objective: social participation has been fomented among a group of elderly, physically and socially isolated individuals and channels to ensure the continuity of participation have been established. New, accessible services have been created and existing services have been improved to maintain the autonomy of many individuals and to support caretaking families. Social capital has improved through associations, altruism and intergenerational interchange.