Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

The aging process is related to several changes that can significantly affect life and health. Preventing the deterioration of seniors’ health rather than acting only once the disorder has emerged is crucial. This requires adequate resources in the community. In addition, having the opportunity to learn new knowledge and to share experiential life skills are two cornerstones of aging well-being. In addition, enjoyable social relationships, as well as social participation are protective factors for the health of seniors. Despite some very interesting programs, few initiatives highlight the experiential knowledge of seniors or involve learning to promote their participation in the social fabric. In fact, it appears that a vast number of programs for older adults relate to participation in recreational activities. The objective of this poster is to present a project that led to co-develop, with seniors in Canada, a learning and sharing initiative based on the Recovery College model. This model originally comes from England and aims to empower a person, one’s entourage and the community to engage in recovery-oriented practices. The model puts forward trainings that are co-constructed and co-facilitated by people with experiential knowledge and people with theoretical or clinical knowledge (duos of trainers). Several empirical studies show that Recovery College has positive effects on many levels, including personal recovery, social inclusion, hope and well-being.