The Wellbeing in Older People conference held on 25th Jan was a big success with 100 delegates attending and a waiting list of many more. Attendees came from a variety of third sector and statutory organisations with interests in the wellbeing of older people, as well as members of the general public. Papers were presented from academics researching this area from schools across the university and different disciplines including a film presenting research findings relevant to this group.

Presentations on the day covered:

• How a favourable dining experience is important to ensure the best possible nutritional intake, with mealtimes central to nutritional care and quality of life of residents in care homes.

View presentation

• Investigating the impacts of friendship clubs seeking to reduce social isolation in the older age group.

View presentation

• How retirement incomes have fallen for many, whilst essential living costs have increased, with consequential impacts on financial, health and social aspects of well-being.  We look at how these people are coping with the downturn and its impact on their lives.

View presentation

• The emerging findings of a study indicating how older peoples’ sense of well-being in rural life is particularly connected to a sense of embedded ‘at-homeness’ in their locality and landscape. It is this intertwining of rurality, well-being and ageing that is emerging as pivotal for understanding older peoples’ mobility needs.

View presentation

• Issues and Challenges facing older people who fund their own care.

View presentation

• Rufus Stone - a film which studies positioning, ageing and gay life in rural South West England and Wales .

See the Rufus Stone website

Commenting on the success of the event Dr Ann Hemingway said ‘The evaluations for the day were very positive and we have made some new partnerships for the future and recruited research subjects as well as having very useful question and comment sessions during the day. The popularity of the event showed the great interest and enthusiasm for this area.’

Date for the Diary
BU will be holding an open public meeting about Dementia on Wednesday 16^th May in the Executive Business Centre on Holdenhurst Road in Bournemouth. Further details about this event will follow.

About the Wellbeing Centre
BU’s Wellbeing in Practice initiative is designed to help both commercial and public sector businesses and organisations, look at their practice in a new, improved and unique way. Through the application of the latest academic research from many health and wellbeing aspects, the Wellbeing Centre will enable you to rethink how everyone in your workplace can join together to promote their own and others wellbeing, ultimately improving overall performance.

The horses are trained to give clear and unbiased feedback on mental and emotional self control. Tasks are progressive and challenging, requiring the participants to remain calm and focused… or lose the plot! 

Prisoners are coached to overcome frustration and failure by taking control over their thoughts and feelings. The horses provide both motivation and feedback, and reliably create positive change with even the most difficult individuals.

The project is being studied by Dr Meek &  Dr Hemingway (Southampton & Bournemouth Universities) and initial findings are extremely positive, with participants showing results such as:

better self control
greater engagement with available education
confidence as learners
stronger focus on positive goals
hope

The horsemanship goal of the 7 sessions is to gain Parelli Level 1 accreditation, the more important goal is to have the skills to lead constructive and satisfying lives.

• Register for the Wellbeing in Older People - Wednesday 25 January 2012 from 10.00am – 15.00pm

About the Event

A one day conference designed to share research and practice development activity currently being undertaken by the wellbeing and public health team, focusing on promoting the health and wellbeing of the older age group. The work is carried out by multi-disciplinary teams across the university and puts the wellbeing of the older person at its core.

Presentations will cover:

• How a favourable dining experience is important to ensure the best possible nutritional intake, with mealtimes central to nutritional care and quality of life of residents in care homes.
• Investigating the impacts of friendship clubs seeking to reduce social isolation in the older age group.
• How retirement incomes have fallen for many, whilst essential living costs have increased, with consequential impacts on financial, health and social aspects of well-being.  We look at how these people are coping with the downturn and its impact on their lives.
• The emerging findings of a study indicating how older peoples’ sense of well-being in rural life is particularly connected to a sense of embedded ‘at-homeness’ in their locality and landscape. It is this intertwining of rurality, well-being and ageing that is emerging as pivotal for understanding older peoples’ mobility needs.

• Wellbeing in Older People – 1 Day Conference (PDF 361kb)

About the Wellbeing Centre
BU’s Wellbeing in Practice initiative is designed to help both commercial and public sector businesses and organisations, look at their practice in a new, improved and unique way. Through the application of the latest academic research from many health and wellbeing aspects, the Wellbeing Centre will enable you to rethink how everyone in your workplace can join together to promote their own and others wellbeing, ultimately improving overall performance.

Agenda

Register for the Wellbeing in Older People  - Wednesday 25 January 2012 from 10.00am – 15.00pm

For further information about the event or contact Colin Hewitt-Bell by email or telephone: 01202 962251.

When: Wednesday 21 September 2011 12.45 – 2.30pm.

Where: The Executive Business Centre, Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth BH8 8EB.

• Register for the Workplace Wellbeing Charter for England Wednesday 21 September 2011 12.45 – 2.30pm.

The Department Of Health launches its Wellbeing Charter this September. We are delighted to welcome Jane Abraham, SW Regional Health Work and Wellbeing Coordinator for the Department of Health, who will introduce the Charter to our region, and explain the benefits of adopting the Charter.
As well as making good commercial sense, adopting the Charter demonstrates your commitment to the health and wellbeing of your workforce. A healthier workforce makes for a healthier bottom line.

BU’s fusion of relevant expertise and research has led to the creation of our Wellbeing in Practice initiative. Ann Hemingway and her team can show you practical ways of moving forward and advise how you can implement schemes to achieve the standards set out in the Charter allowing your workforce to flourish.

This event is free to attend.

Programme:

• 12.45 – 1.30pm Registration and lunch.
• 1.30pm Welcome by Dr Ann Hemingway – Jane Abraham introduces the Department of Health’s Workplace Wellbeing Charter for England.
• 2.30pm Questions & Answers.

Register for this event.

For Dotmailer/Newsletters: Find out more about BU’s Wellbeing in Practice initiative (link to Wellbeing blog).

• Register for the Innovation in Wellbeing: Wellbeing in Practice – Wednesday 6 July 2011 from 4.00pm – 7.00pm

About the Event
BU’s Wellbeing Centre have brought together a range of speakers from leading organisations, who each bring with them their own experiences of implementing Wellbeing initiatives in their organisations or on behalf of others. This event is a unique opportunity to hear about their experiences, lessons learnt and best practice recommendations – to help inform your own future plans for wellbeing initiatives within your own organisation. The event has been part funded by PUSH (Partnership for Urban South Hampshire)

About the Wellbeing Centre
BU’s Wellbeing in Practice initiative is designed to help both commercial and public sector businesses and organisations, look at their practice in a new, improved and unique way. Through the application of the latest academic research from many health and wellbeing aspects, the Wellbeing Centre will enable you to rethink how everyone in your workplace can join together to promote their own and others wellbeing, ultimately improving overall performance.

Agenda:

• 4.00pm – Registration (Tea/Coffee – will be available)
• 4.15pm – Presentations will begin
• 5.30pm – Light refreshments available. Networking opportunities.

Speakers

Romy Fraser – Founder of Neal’s Yard remedies and more recently Trill Farm
Making any commercial farm work is a challenge; but Romy and her team aim to earn a living from producing food organically and also minimise our consumption of energy and creation of waste. They strive to care for the environment and enhance biodiversity. Why? Because Romy believes it is not too late to do things differently.

David Evans – Independent Consultant in the field of Human Resources (HR)
‘Wellbeing – The European Perspective’ – focusing particularly on improving company and employee performance and engagement, through recognition and reward systems design. David has over 30 years experience in the field of HR, gained in the UK, Europe and on an international stage. He was formerly Vice President (Human Resources), Cristal Global. He lives and operates from Brussels, Belgium.

Sophie Edmond, Talent Manager, Heinz
Hear all about Heinz’s ‘Full of Beans’ campaign … “As an organisation, we’re committed to the environmental issues and health matters that affect us all. And we’re serious about how our people can make a positive contribution in these areas. One example is our recently launched ‘Full of Beans campaign’, which is about making sure everyone at Heinz is happy and healthy. For example, we ran a Full of Beans fortnight to kick off the initiative, with events and activities across all our UK & Ireland sites, from Fruity Fridays to drop-in health screening. During this talk we share our findings from this innovative initiative”.

• Register for the Innovation in Wellbeing: Wellbeing in Practice – Wednesday 6 July 2011 from 4.00pm – 7.00pm

For further information about the event or contact Colin Hewitt-Bell by email or telephone: 01202 962251.

Wellbeing Centre
Collaborative Research Space
1st Floor
Bournemouth House
19 Christchurch Road
Bournemouth
BH1 3LH.

The Wellbeing in Practice Centre announces two free workshops on Wednesday 8 June from 12.45-2.30pm and Tuesday 28 June from 12.45-2.30pm. These events will help you discover how wellbeing at work can benefit your business. They will enable your business to rethink how people in the work place can join together to promote their own, and other’s wellbeing while increasing productivity. Lunch will be provided at each workshop.

Speakers

• Dr Ann Hemingway who is public health lead for research and enterprise within the Centre for Practice Development and the Centre for Wellbeing and Quality of Life.
• Dr Paul Stevens whose research focuses on understanding the relationships between wellbeing and the environment, focusing on beneficial effects of nature and how ecological perspectives alter people’s sense of self and identity.

Registration

• Register for the Wellbeing in Caring Practice – Wednesday 8 June from 12.45-2.30pm.
• Register for the wellbeing in Business Practice – Tuesday 28 June from 12.45-2.30pm.

For further information about the event please contact Colin Hewitt-Bell by email or telephone: 01202 962251.