Client panel involved in developing the service guide of the wellbeing services county
We are updating our service guide for older adults. The clients themselves have also been actively involved.
The service guide is aimed particularly at older residents who find it difficult to locate information online. The guide is available in Finnish and Swedish at service points, health stations and libraries across all municipalities in the wellbeing services county.
The updated guide will be published in the autumn. It is being developed together with older residents to ensure it is as useful and client-friendly as possible. The guide draws on insights from a client panel, local feedback and an online survey.
“An excellent way to bring clients into the development of services”
The client panel for the service guide includes two active women from Espoo, Sirkka Ruikkala and Sirpa Aarniolehto. They have long been actively involved in various initiatives, including founding the Meeting Café meeting place at Iso Omena shopping centre. At the core of their work is improving the position of older adults, preventing social exclusion and developing practices that enable participation.
“We joined the client panel when we were invited. Panels like this are an excellent way to bring clients into the development of services,” says Ruikkala.
“The goal here is the same as at the Meeting Café: to find ways of enabling older adults to participate and to get involved in developing the services intended for them,” Aarniolehto adds.
In Ruikkala’s and Aarniolehto’s experience, new service innovations emerge when people are brought together. At the same time, this usually also leads to a resource-wise way of delivering services.
The two women have already suggested a new section for the service guide that would compile information on community spirit, opportunities for participation and meeting places for older adults.
“The key way in which the wellbeing services county can strengthen residents’ wellbeing and vitality is precisely through a sense of community. But it does not happen by itself; rather, it emerges for example in places like the Meeting Café. Alongside official services, the service guide should also include information on low-threshold activities,” Aarniolehto says.
This news article was published as part of the “Elinvoimaa ikääntyneille” supplement. Read the full supplement online (in Finnish).