Living Well Expo 2023- showcasing supports for Living well in Co Laois

Description

This event, which was a joint health and wellbeing initiative, co-ordinated by Healthy Laois and Age Friendly Laois, included talks, demonstrations and 70 exhibitors, who showcased the range of supports and services available to people/communities of all ages in Laois, enabling them to Live Well. Anna Mai McHugh is our Laois Age Friendly Ambassador and opened the Living Well event on the day.
The event was born out of feedback received at Age Friendly and Healthy Laois consultations , namely that people were not aware of supports in the community- be these official supports or just community groups to get involved with . It was also evident that Covid 19 had caused habits to form- not to socialise & to stay safe, and when contacting individuals and groups, we heard stories of groups struggling to reform post-pandemic. It was important to create an event which would encourage people, especially the older cohort to re-engage, to socialise and to become informed of what was there for them in their communities. Re- energising and supporting our citizens in a post covid world is a challenge for all demographics- however for the older cohort, the increasing social isolation has led to poorer health outcomes and a lower quality of life. Addressing this was deemd a priority in the new Age Friendly Strategy.

On the day there were cooking demonstrations, CPR, training, talks and exhibitions to help the people of Laois find the services and products they need in one space. There was a recognition of the many factors that influence Health and on the day there was also information on Grants, Energy Savings, Home Safety and Technology, in addition to a full range of Health Initiatives and information on Living well. The Healthy Age Friendly Home programme attended in advance of their nationwide roll-out. Information was available on a wide range of services to help improve the Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing of the people of Laois. One of the most striking aspects of the Expo was that in the Free Health Checks by the HSE , 97 people were screened, many of whom had not attended a doctor since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic. 5 people were referred onwards for urgent attention.

Approximately 1000 people attended on the day and the feedback from attendees was universally positive. Exhibitors also advised that they benefitted from the networking opportunity and relations were formed which will benefit them in the provision of services and care

Aim of Initiative

In line with the Age Friendly Strategy & the Healthy Laois Strategy, the aim was to provide information in a central area and in an in-person format. Primarily, the aim was to inform attendees on the supports available and to signpost them clearly. We aimed to respond to what we had seen and heard by talking to our networks- we created a strong event which gave people a reason to get out and about, to re-connect and be inspired to get involved in their communities again.

Who is it aimed at

The initiative what targetted from young to old . We had predominantly an older audience attending , although exhibitor stands were relevant to various ages, with a good number dedicated to an older audience. One room was dedicated to health screening and the HSE had 5 different sections attending including the Integrated Care teams. The Healthy Age Friendly Homes team also attended in advance of their national roll out.

Healthy Laois targetted specific demographics- from young adult to middle age to older people and Age Friendly Laois targetted the older people in Laois- Active retirement groups, individuals and community groups.

70 stands provided a wide range of information for all.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Meet and work with Healthy Laois and we realised that we had common areas.
   decide on how best to share knowledge and collaborate on this and future initiatives. Both strategies were being prepared and there were shared elements between the two strategies with each of us facilitating discusions at each others consultations. It was on seeing the same or similar recurring themes at both that we decided upon the creation of an EXPO event.
2. Look at the social determinants of Health and be guided by this and by our consultations in selecting what providers we wanted to attend. We reached out to to Age Friendly Alliance members, our OPC and our networks to get them to exhibit nd also to suggest what would be of value. This is how we arrived at 70 exhibitors and a busy talks and demo schedule- with potential to expand this in future years. Decide on format, time, layout, programme, venue. This had to be strategic and had to offer accessibility, multiple rooms to serve different needs and had to have ample parking. Consideration was given also to getting a venue that could grow with the event.
3. Create marketing tools and media/ social media campaign. Get a poster and event logo designed and circulated- decide on promotional tools to meet specific demographics. These included email campaigns, the distribution of promotional materials to exhibitors for circulation to their networks, a text campaigh to older people who may not be on social media, a socail media campaign and a local press feature on our event. The press launch was attended by 50 people and featured our own Age Friendly Ambassador, Anna May McHugh. Both lead partners followed up on the press release by directly contacting and speaking with individuals and groups to push the event and get bookings.
   Create post event evaluation document.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Getting exhibitors across all health determinants. Explaining our vision to them and getting them to buy in and give of their time .Identifying a good mix of stands and not to overload it with one area- eg HSE. This process took months , and in some cases we had follow up calls and emails to get who we wanted over the line.
2. Distribution of information and how to target different demographics by the best medium for each one. It was not a case of designing a poster and posting to social media but it was a combination of legwork, networking and direct contact that grew our audience. We had pre registered about 100 for the day and so were confident of getting 500 plus.
3. Creating a new event- when creating a new event you are essentially laying the foundations for future events and you are not building upon existing foundations. This makes certain aspects difficult as you have no guidelines – it is hard to estimate numbers, ascertain what venue worked well in the past etc. We were conscious of getting as much right in year one as we could so as this event could be well received with the potential for growth

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Raising awareness of the many supports and services in Co Laois, not only the national bodies and service providers such as the HSE and various businesses, but also NGO’s and local community groups. Signposting of how to access and avail of services.
2. Networking and sharing of info between local groups, NGO’s , businesses and national bodies. The event brought people out- it motivated re-engagement with society and we heard from exhibitors and attendees on the day and after the event how people had joined up up with community groups, education programmes within the ETB’s and the Civil Defence signed up volunteers for their service. Many information providers took the opportunity to visit fellow exhibitors and exchange contacts with a view to working together , having identified potential gaps in service
3. The event was comprehensive and well received- it raised the profile of both lead partners among the public. With speakers from Age friendly Ireland in attendance and clear branding throughout, it was a clear statement of who we are are and what we want to achieve. As a result of the event, the wider OPC has grown and this will strengthen the OPC executive and give it a stronger voice when the new Age Friendly Strategy is launched. People want to have their voices heard and when they told us of their need for information, we responded with this event. This leads to trust in our programmes and makes it easier to achieve buy in. Exhibitors on the day have expressed their desire to come back in 2024 , to what should be a bigger and better event.