Health Access, Health Promotion, and Health Self-Management: Barriers When Building Comprehensive Ageing Communities

Abstract

A new intervention model for promoting healthy ageing grounded on integrated value-based care was developed and tested in the city of Valencia (Spain). Its implementation raised relevant barriers for older adults in their access to health, health promotion, and health self-management linked with their health and digital literacy. This new intervention model included several aspects. On the one hand, researchers together with older adults and their informal caregivers participating in the study, designed personalized care plans, based on older adults’ specific needs, to be implemented with the support of a digital solution. On the other hand, researchers and health and social professionals implemented a series of workshops in different locations of the city to encourage a sense of community among participants, reinforcing their trust in the new care model and increasing their adherence. Social activities were at the core of the workshops to understand older people’s interaction with the health and social services provided in the neighborhood. Qualitative and quantitative methods were combined to extract information from older participants on how to engage them as active actors of their health and understand their values and preferences. In the present manuscript, we focus on the qualitative results, which show that after a post-pandemic situation, they were more concerned about social isolation and desired face-to-face contact with their professional care team; however, feelings of loneliness and/or sadness were not considered among the reasons to visit health professionals. Some of the conclusions revealed that the use of technology as a supportive tool is well received but with a stress on its role as “supportive”, and not replacing the close contact with healthcare professionals. Professionals recognized the benefits of this new approach but required more time and incentives to dedicate the effort needed. The main aim of this study was to present these barriers related to health access, health promotion, and health self-management, as well as the actions developed to face them.