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Chapter 5
Impact of the age awareness workshop
We do a case conference once a week where we talk about different clients. And one of the first things we
always say is the client’s age. [After the workshop] one of the things that we were trying to do as a team was to
not mention how old our clients actually are when we’re talking about all the other relevant factors. I still don’t
[mention the client’s age], but I have noticed other team members have slipped back because it’s just a habit
and how we were doing things for so long.
—Participant, mixed age group
The last example, referring to colleagues who subsequently returned to the previous approach,
suggests a need to keep the learnings from the workshop salient and at the forefront of people’s
minds. Strategies may include regular reviews and reinforcement – for example, through team
meetings and peer discussions; recognition and encouragement from management; and follow-up
and refresher sessions to revisit and reinforce the learnings.
Case study: A reminder to keep an open mind
Kim, library outreach officer
For the most part, Kim feels like she is doing things right at work as a community outreach
officer; however, the workshop did prompt her to think about trying new things and keep an
open mind.
In particular, she reflected on how decisions are made in her workplace regarding the programs
offered to older adults. She considered whether assumptions about older adults’ preferences
might be limiting the activities that are offered.
Recently, they ran a robotics program for older adults that they were not so sure would work,
but proved to be a success. There was a great turnout; everyone got involved and appeared to
be having fun, playing with the robots, and trying their hand at simple programming.
Kim and her colleagues initially doubted whether older adults in their community would engage
with the robots, but with such a great response they are now looking to see what other things
they could offer.
We didn’t think they’d get engaged in that, but it was
the best fun they had.