In a small town in the Alpine Shire of Victoria, approximately three hours drive northeast of Melbourne, residents are playing an active role in co-designing a personalised program of activities to improve their everyday health and wellbeing.
“It’s reassuring to know I can do things to help me live life the way I want to,” said Mount Beauty resident, Ron Fensham.
The tools provide communication prompts to guide older people and practitioners to make a personalised plan aligned with the new model of care.
Known as the “Indigo 4Ms”; what matters to the individual, their medication, mobility and mental wellbeing needs are prioritised, ensuring that common conditions of ageing are considered and crucially, the older people have agency in determining what actions need to be taken.
The Mount Beauty Neighbourhood Centre (MBNC) are working with local older residents and health and community organisations to develop local programs and resources among older people, such as peer-education videos.
Building a collaborative, community-based approach is integral to rural age-friendly health care.
“It has helped us to work with other organisations on a common goal, and to link and expand the activities already taking place,” said Trish Dixon, Manager of the MBNC. “It has also strengthened our relationship with medical and other health support services in the community.”
The Indigo 4Ms: A model for rural age-friendly care
Two international, evidence-based models underpin the framework—the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 4Ms model and the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People guidelines. Australian rural geriatric literature, policy and practice were also drawn upon.
The 4Ms stand for:
- What Matters—Enabling people to be and do what they value.
- Medications—Reviewing medications regularly to ensure that they are effective and appropriate.
- Mobility—Monitoring and supporting physical mobility, staying strong, and preventing falls.
- Mental Wellbeing—Engaging in meaningful activities by addressing nutrition, vision, hearing, continence, social support, cognition, emotional and psychological needs.
Co-designing community solutions
Six regional and rural health services worked with older people and local health practitioners to co-design two communication tools based on the Indigo 4Ms: The Indigo 4Ms tools for Older People and Health Care Workers.
Beechworth Health Service led the consortium of health services in partnership with the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research (JRC) at La Trobe University. Funding was provided by the Australian Government as part of the Primary Care Rural Innovative Multidisciplinary Models program.
Implementing the tools
Five rural health services are implementing the Indigo 4Ms Tool for Health Care Workers in primary care to support comprehensive care planning. The project is led by Beechworth Health Service and funded under the Australian Government’s Innovative Models of Care Program.
Additionally, the JRC is working with community organisations and older people in four rural communities in northeast Victoria to co-design local supports to put the Indigo 4Ms Tool for Older People into actionthrough a grant from the State Trustees Australia Foundation.
As part of these projects, educational videos have been produced for health services, community organisations and older people. By combining digital resources and community action, the project is fostering a culture of proactive health management for rural older people.
Looking to the future
The Indigo 4Ms program offers a model for future rural health initiatives, demonstrating how collaboration, engagement and co-design can address challenges faced by rural communities. By focusing on holistic care, community empowerment, and communication between healthcare providers and older people, Australia’s rural health care landscape is poised for meaningful transformation. This will ensure that older Australians can live healthier, happier and independent lives no matter where they call home.
- The Indigo 4Ms Tools can be accessed at https://www.agefriendlynev.au/indigo-4ms.html
The Indigo 4Ms videos can be accessed at https://www.agefriendlynev.au/videos.html
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