Abstracts & Presentation Summaries - Department of Health

I want to suggest that the sense of coherence model provides a framework for
guiding the operation of PAG. Interestingly ethno specific and Koori agencies
provide the most hours of Planned Activity (95% and 90% respectively) 7 . Without
knowing the nature of these programs I would suggest that these agencies can
readily connect with and recognise issues around comprehensibility and world
views.
The HACC program generally and PAG in particular attempt to contribute to
manageability through the provision of a set of material (meals, maintenance,
personal care) and social support resources. How these services are provided is
critical for older adults and people with disabilities in relation to questions of control
and empowerment.
Meaningfulness is difficult to incorporate in programs designed to maintain daily
living skills. Yet without meaningfulness Planned Activity is simply reducible to
instrumental rationality and survival training. As a site of social support PAG have a
responsibility and capacity to develop meaningful experiences for service users. The
answer to the question of what is a meaningful experience can only be decided by the
service user. However there are signposts which can assist. The first has to be in
relation to the extent to which PAG generate a site of engagement, or ‘metaphysical
space’ (Deem, 1986) 8 That is a space which provides a safe physical and emotional
environment, opportunities for intellectual, cultural, physical and social engagement
and the development of capacity for action which is driven by the interests and
experiences of older adults and people with disabilities.
Conclusion
The campaign for Arna was not successful. The magistrate found that Arna was
indeed lonely but dismissed the case on the grounds that that Stardust Circus did not
deliberately intend to cause cruelty. However Animal Liberation N.S.W. intends to
appeal to the Supreme Court.
Some 75% PAG users only used the PAG component of the HACC service system 9 .
This might suggest that older adults and people with disabilities are actually looking
for social support and meaningful experiences. Planned Activity Groups can
contribute to the health and well being of older adults and people with disabilities.
But this will only occur if service users are empowered to do the choosing; choosing
to explore what is meaningful in their lives and choosing to give meaning to life. We
need to use care and dignity in order to hear the messages which people give us.
Our society has mechanisms for responding to the loneliness of elephants. Can the
same be said for older adults and people with disabilities?
PAG co-ordinators and managers also have a capacity for action in terms of shaping
the nature of the PAG policy beast. It is possible to influence the nature and role of
PAG as spaces of meaningful engagement. The challenge is to demonstrate how this
is the case for older adults and people with disabilities and to feed these experiences
into the policy loop. The policy environment can be driven by bottom up evidence
just as readily as it can be driven by the instrumental agendas from above.
7 Department of Human Services, Home Care in Victoria, September Quarter, 2001
8 Deem, R. (1986) All Work and No Play: A Study of Women and Leisure, Open University Press, Milton Keynes
9 Department of Human Services, op cit
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