Outcomes of a trial of an age‐friendly dining initiative: Dining Co

Abstract

Objectives With the rise of age‐friendly cities and communities, increasing attention is being paid to coproducing age‐friendly guidelines with older people and community stakeholders. Little is known however about age‐friendly guidelines for dining establishments. Methods A three‐stage study to develop general and contextualised requirements for an age‐friendly dining experience was conducted in the City of Onkaparinga, South Australia. The first stage involved older people in co‐designing aspects of an age‐friendly dining experience. Subsequently, the second and third stage coproduced, trialed and evaluated age‐friendly initiatives with two dining venues. Results Through co‐design, seven domains of an age‐friendly dining experience were identified (Menu, Affordability, Dementia Awareness, Venue, Feeling Welcome, Special Offerings and Assistance), alongside an overarching desire for a ‘meaningful’ dining experience. Differences in health and socioeconomic status of diners underpinned the differences needed to ensure an age‐friendly dining experience and highlight the importance of contextualisation for the local population. The trial demonstrated positive outcomes for both older diners and venues. Discussion The environment, value and logistics of dining out are important to older people when making choices about dining in the community. The elements of an age‐friendly dining experience presented in this study are a useful starting point for contextualisation to other local settings.

Application of co-design in residential aged care: a scoping review protocol

“…A preliminary search of PROSPERO, MEDLINE (Ovid), the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and JBI Evidence Synthesis identified some systematic reviews and scoping reviews pertaining to co-design and older people that were published or are in-progress 20,21 ; these were mostly performed within community settings rather than in residential aged care settings 22,23 . The research team’s knowledge of published literature on co-design in residential aged care,(eg 24–26 ) indicates that the current search would yield relevant results.…”