Latest news with #Bould
India.com
23-05-2025
- Health
- India.com
The Power Of Pets In Reducing Loneliness And Social Isolation For At-Risk Groups
A new pilot program funded by the National Centre for Healthy Ageing (NCHA), a partnership between Monash University and Peninsula Health, is the first to use a shared interest in pets to help build connections between young and older adults to reduce loneliness and social isolation. Social isolation and loneliness stem from a reduced sense of belonging, due to a lack of social connections, and can lead to detrimental effects on physical health and cognitive decline. These experiences have been exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of the most impacted groups about social isolation and loneliness are young adults, including international Monash University students, and older adults living in residential aged care. Led by Monash University researcher Dr Em Bould, the Pets and People program was co-designed using an action research process with international university students, older adults living in residential aged care, and senior management staff across two aged care providers. The pilot involved 30 older adults from two aged care facilities in Victoria and 11 international university students volunteering to participate in the program. The participants met face-to-face for one hour each week, over 18 weeks. To encourage conversations, the program included animal-focused leisure activities (e.g., arts and crafts, jigsaws, animal bingo, singing animal-themed songs), robotic animals, and live pets. Pets participating in the program included those living at an aged care facility, pets of family members and staff, and Dr Bould's pet dog, Barney. Six older adults, 10 international Monash University students, and three senior-aged care management staff participated in the program's evaluation. This involved completing surveys at the start and end of the pilot and a semi-structured interview. 'We found that both older adults and international students experienced a significant decrease in feelings of loneliness and a significant increase in their health. The presence of live pets in particular helped to break the ice and facilitated conversations between participants,' Dr Bould said. Loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness scale, and significantly decreased from 49.4 to 41.4. Participants' health was measured using the EuroQol-5 Dimension Instrument, and there was a clinically significant increase from 0.741 to 0.800. An older participant of the program said, 'I was lonely, so the program has perked me up. I feel like I have made some friends, and it's made me feel less lonely.' An international student of the program said, 'After doing this program, I always feel like my mood becomes better, and I feel more relaxed, and just happier than before.' Dr Bould and colleagues also explored the costs associated with participating in the program. They found that for each person who participated in 10 weeks or more of the 18-week program, the average program cost was $237 per person. An explorative cost-utility analysis indicated a cost of $4,017 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained, which is well below the threshold for the Australian Government's health-related expenditure of $28,000 per QALY gained. 'The pilot of the Pets and People program and evaluation findings have demonstrated a promising example of a low-cost program that can enhance health-related quality of life, wellbeing, and feelings of loneliness,' Dr Bould said. 'The Pets and People program has the potential for replication and scaling across aged care settings both in Australia and internationally.' Following the pilot period, Dr Bould worked with one aged care provider, Fronditha Care, to scale up program implementation across five of their aged care facilities and community support programs. Faye Spiteri OAM, CEO, Fronditha Care, said, 'We welcomed the partnership because we understand the importance of a program like this in creating opportunities for our elders to experience the joy that pets bring. By reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation, the program supports their health and wellbeing, and we have seen positive and encouraging health outcomes as a result.'
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Whitchurch businesses welcome Shropshire's first banking hub
Businesses have praised a banking hub, describing the service as "excellent" after the last bank in town said it would close its doors. The new hub in Whitchurch, the first of its kind in Shropshire, allows customers to take out cash, make deposits and check balances without having to travel to other was set up by CashAccess, a non-profit organisation owned and run by major banks, aiming to make sure people can still get cash when they need it. The last regular bank standing in Whitchurch - TSB - announced it would shut in May. Kenny Bould who works at Timpsons, over the road from the hub's base, said: "I use it to put money in, and also we need change, and every time I've been in there's no queue - [I go] in and out, it's brilliant." Mr Bould said the provision would "help me loads" and was a "brilliant idea". So far, the hub has representatives from TSB, Halifax, Barclays, and NatWest coming in one day per week. It offers private spaces to talk through financial concerns with announced last year it would be closing its Whitchurch branch, saying it was because the majority of their customers were using digital rather than face-to-face to figures from TSB, 96% of transactions take place outside of branches, with those carried out in-branch falling by 43% since 2020. Some locals are worried that losing the town's last bank could lead to a drop in footfall on the high street, but hope the hub can make a difference."A lot of people won't come to the town any longer to do their banking, and so won't look round the shops" said Sharron Marriott, who runs Make Your House A said she hoped the hub would change that. Florist Jenny McHale from Gallery Flowers said the banking hub was "removing the pressure" from the local Post Office, where locals had previously been taking out cash. "When you're in the Post Office you're in a queue for 25, 30 minutes, maybe longer," she McHale added that aside from the new hub, her closest bank branch was a 45-minute drive away in Chester. For businesses that rely on cash, having somewhere to deposit - and withdraw - money is Bailey from Antiques Emporium says the business can miss out from a lack of banking provision, as it doesn't accept card payments at all. "We find that [customers] can't walk anywhere to get [cash] - they say 'we'll come back' and then they don't come back," she said. The importance of cash was echoed by Mark Fulton, who runs record store The Vinyl Countdown."As a business owner it's obviously essential that we have somewhere we can pay cash in and take cash out," he that while "the ideal scenario" would be having full-time bank branches back in the town, he said, the shared hub was "a good second choice". Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
