Innovation: Grip and Shine

Netherlands

AAI Domain: Independent, healthy and secure living (mental well-being, lifelong learning)

A vital part of ageing well is having a high level of mental well-being, however as people age they can experience loneliness and depression as their social networks weaken and they lose their sense of purpose. This is not inevitable although it appears that hereditary factors play an important role, estimated to be responsible for around half of a person’s level of happiness, there is scope for action on improving living conditions and purposeful activities to enhance mental well-being. There is a great opportunity for social innovations to play an important role in improving mental well-being among older adults so that they are able to maximise their potential to age well.

The Grip and Shine courses were developed at the University Medical Centre Groningen after research visits to nine areas around the world with notable longevity. These sites included Sardinia (Italy), Ikaria (Greek island), Okinawa (Japan) and Nicoya (Costa Rica) and a number of common features were found. These included daily physical activity, a sense of purpose in life, daily relaxation, moderate diets including beans and wine while socialising, maintaining strong family connections and an environment that nudges people to healthy behaviours.

In consultation with older people and a range of professionals, UMCG developed the Grip and Shine short courses to increase the mental well-being of older people. The Grip course focuses on giving people a greater sense of control over their lives while the Shine course emphasises raising levels of well-being by being active, setting goals and developing ways of achieving. The innovation was supported by the Dutch government’s National Programme for Older People and the Viven Foundation.

An initial pilot with 23 health and welfare organisations across the Northern Netherlands showed promising results in the 16 organisations that were able to deliver and complete the course with older people. The initial target group in the first instance was people aged 55 and over who could attend a weekly course for six weeks with a small group of between six and twelve people. The 283 older people who initially participated in the programme reported improved self-confidence, well-being and reduced loneliness. They were also less likely to use primary or mental health care services compared to a control group that did not participate in the programme.

The Viven Foundation has supported the programme by funding the training of 70 coaches who lead people through the programme and it has expanded to cover people aged between 40 and 90 years. Participants can usually claims the modest fees for the course from their health insurance and an increasing number of people have participated in the programme with ongoing evaluation research to assess its effectiveness.

In relation to active ageing, Grip and Shine are evidence-based examples of how to improve mental well-being through lifelong learning. Improving the mental well-being of an ageing population is likely to be highly beneficial now and in the future so it is important to recognise innovative programmes that can make a difference to how well people live.

GRIP&GLANS website