The Brain Health Village – Rathcoran, Baltinglass

Description

The application of brain health as a health promotion value, to the area of housing and community development is relatively unexplored, although arguably some of the concepts falling under the ‘brain health umbrella’ – such as age friendly/dementia accessible design are increasingly well codified.
At the core of this initiative is the understanding that brain health transcends the mere absence of disease. It is intimately connected to our living conditions, including the quality of our housing. Traditional housing models often overlook this critical aspect. Respond, through this partnership, is addressing this gap by integrating brain health considerations into the design and development of sustainable community. The Brain Health Village Project is underpinned by a robust framework, developed with international expertise across various domains. This framework is a conceptual model that guides the development of brain health-informed communities. It is founded on principles of co-creation, ensuring that the solutions are tailored to the specific needs and contexts of local communities.

Pillars of the Framework:

Life Course Approach: This pillar emphasises building awareness and understanding of brain health among community members and policymakers. It focuses on collective actions to promote brain health and reduce stigma.

Stakeholder Engagement: Recognising the community as part of a broader network, this aspect involves navigating political and policy landscapes to secure resources and support for brain health initiatives.

Equity and Security Values: This pillar aims to create equitable, safe and inclusive communities. It emphasises the importance of personal identity, social inclusion and the balance between stability and change.

Intergenerational Community and Creativity: Fostering a community that values contributions from all ages and encourages creativity and arts as tools for well-being and community building.

Built and Natural Environment: Applying universal design principles to create sustainable, accessible, and pleasant spaces. This includes integrating natural and digital elements to promote social interaction and reduce stress.

Service Availability and Integration: Ensuring access to a range of services and resources, including leisure, cultural, educational, and healthcare services, and integrating these into the community fabric.

A multi-agency intergenerational approach is helping to create opportunities to build and grow the community in a sustainable way and to facilitate a life-course perspective to allow young tenants and children to thrive, whilst also supporting tenants to age in place. These are also the principles that underpin the Housing for All government strategy and reflect the opportunity for sustainable living.
This initiative goes beyond local implications, offering a globally relevant, values-based framework for addressing the challenges of housing and sustainable community development. Its person-centered, equity-focused approach, grounded in social justice principles, aligns seamlessly with key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically targeting health and well-being, reduced inequalities, and sustainable cities and communities (SDGs #3, 10, 11). The Brain Health Village model is not just a local solution but a potential blueprint for global application, influencing policy at various levels. It advocates for a comprehensive approach to brain health and housing, emphasising the importance of these factors in individual and community well-being at local, regional, and national scales.

Aim of Initiative

The aim of the project is to prove the concept that brain health can flourish in an community where the above mentioned conditions are met in an authentic and person centred way. The project is being evaluated on an ongoing basis and the findings, over time, may influence housing design and service delivery across the sector.

Who is it aimed at

This initial phase of the project aims to introduce the ‘Brain Health’ concept to tenants, staff and the wider community at Rathcoran, create a framework for the key components of a brain health friendly community to be applied, and to identify both short and medium term initiatives and areas of focus.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Define – To work with expert and local stakeholders to co-develop the framework and to identify overall structure, goals and priorities for the longer term project. It will also establish key milestones and markers to monitor progress. These would inform and integrate with Respond’s plans for development in the area, but also identify additional initiatives.
2. Train – Initially to deliver Brain Health training to local volunteers who can join in with defining and prioritising work. They may also be willing to become Brain Health Champions complimenting and supporting work to plan and develop awareness and training for the wider community.
3. Evaluate – Develop and implement a survey/assessment tool to measure awareness and understanding of Brain Health as a concept, and to measure ‘brain health friendly factors’ e.g. level of social connection, design for brain health, community access to arts and creativity, transport, meeting spaces, sports, intergenerational activities, volunteering, health and social care etc.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. The peripheral geographical position of Baltinglass in the county of Wicklow has led to difficultly in accessing some services/ resources. This is something we hope to address over the life-course of the project and hopefully play a part in enhancing services for the wider community in Baltinglass.
2. Timeframe – there has had to be flexibility adapting the work plan to the needs of the community and the resources available, however this challenge also presents an opportunity to engage tenants in an authentic and meaningful way thereby giving the community the scope to lead on initiatives which are of interest to them.
3. Lack of a community building – the team have had to be resourceful to find locations where events could be hosted as there is no community building on site. Respond have been successfully granted funding by the Housing Finance Agency to provide an outdoor “Shomera” to address this issue. While this is still a work in progress, we expect the facility to be in place for the community in the near future.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. The Brain Health Village project has achieved significant milestones in its pilot phase, demonstrating the profound impact of integrating brain health into housing and community development. The project’s success is evident in the enthusiastic response from tenants who participated in workshops led by brain health experts. An impressive 92% reported an enhanced understanding of brain health, while a unanimous 100% agreed that brain health should be a priority for social landlords. Furthermore, 92% participants committed to making positive changes in their and their families’ lives, reflecting the project’s immediate and practical impact.
2. The tenant baseline survey undertaken in September 2023 for the Brain Health Village in Rathcoran identified that overall, wellbeing and life-satisfaction at baseline compared favourably to national averages. The WHO five determinants of brain health were used to structure the analysis of needs i.e. physical health, healthy environments, safety and security, learning and social connection, access to quality services. The community needs identified in relation to each determinant in turn identified possible actions that might be considered as part of pilot activities for Rathcoran.
3. A work plan of activities for Rathcoran was developed for this year and to date has achieved some of the following outputs and outcomes:
   • 6 week healthy eating made easy programme – tenants make healthier food choices leading to improved physical health and ultimately brain health
   • Social walking club – increased levels of physical activity and very importantly a sense of social connection, thereby improving overall health and wellbeing
   • Gardening project – workshops on growing your own vegetables, the creation of a new growing and gathering space for residents has led to improved social connection and wellbeing plus the residents will continue to make healthy choices with the food that they grow. Residents commented that the activities had allowed them an opportunity for enhanced connection with the outdoors, learning about the environment and healthy eating practices while also created a new space for social engagement with their neighbours and wider community. The gardening project has also created awareness that everyone has creative capacities.
   • Age friendly seating in place – creates a space for social interactions and a space for outdoor rest/ relaxation for tenants
   • The creation of community and outdoor spaces have facilitated physical connection like gatherings and groups but also plans in progress to create walkways and thoroughfares that interconnect properties and spaces thereby, creating a sense of presence and activity that can be ‘seen’.
   • Cost of living event – provided tenants with information on how to reduce their bills, thereby improving their financial situation and supporting their wellbeing. Feedback included that the residents learned new and relevant information, they knew how to apply the lessons in their lives, they would recommend the workshop to others. There was also demand for further workshops especially on reducing food bills and benefit entitlements.
   An ongoing developmental evaluation approach is enabling real-time feedback and ascertaining the positive brain health impact of the activities/ actions within the work plan thus allowing for it to be adapted where necessary.