“Leave no one behind”: gerontologist visits counter isolation of elderly people in Arouca

Even before the moment arrives to welcome the “girl” Tânia, Emília waits with anticipation because she knows that “that day she will talk and have fun”. That’s why the septuagenarian, resident in Arouca, in the district of Aveiro, “is always counting on a visit” from the gerontologist.

At 71 years old, Emília has limited mobility and her husband, Adriano (74), suffered a stroke that disrupted his speech and movements. In addition to having the support of a caregiver, the couple is part of the “Extraordinary Visits” project, launched by the city council at the beginning of the year. The idea arose from the need to “respond” to people over 65 who are “in a situation of dependence and who are more isolated”, explains the president, Margarida Belém, to Expresso.

A particularly important solution in a “very dispersed territory”, with 16 parishes, even more so after the covid-19 pandemic, a period that left “a great lesson and a great concern of not leaving anyone behind and ensuring that seniors who are alone have quality of life and remain in their natural environment”, declares the mayor. “They have difficulty leaving. Since they cannot come to us, the municipality – in this logic of proximity – will reach out to them”, she summarizes.

So far, 183 visits have taken place and 23 people have been covered: each person enjoys, in total, ten 60-minute sessions. The objective is to reach at least 60 beneficiaries by the end of the initiative, which is scheduled to last until December 2025 and is funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

“I never do the same activities. There are people who like to do activities and others who simply like to talk and that’s what they want. Everything meets the personal tastes of each user. It involves a lot of cognitive stimulation activities, with some games, and also sensory and physical stimulation”, says gerontologist Tânia Brandão. The work involves “a very large degree of personalization”, adapting “to the reality, needs, experiences and interests of each person”, highlights Margarida Belém.

Emília likes to do “a bit of everything”, from doing math, exercising with the therapy ball, stretching or simply talking. “It’s been a long year since I went to school, but I still remember it. I know all the multiplication tables,” she reports. In the case of the husband, even with limitations, it has been “very good” due to the possibility of doing some physical activity. The couple’s caregiver “also participates”, says Tânia Brandão, since it is part of the project’s objectives to contribute to the training of professionals, so that “they can continue these activities”.

“It’s a shame it’s only ten sessions”, Emília laments, calculating that there’s only one more visit left. “The ideal would be to continue, even if it were a visit at least every 15 days”, agrees the gerontologist. “Everyone is very sad when we are coming to the end. First it’s strange, then it sinks in: first I’m a strange person, I’m entering their house, it’s normal. But then, when we are almost at the end, there is complicity and ease.”

The possibility of the project continuing is on the table, given the “success” and “acceptance”, which has been “a surprise”, says the mayor, highlighting the importance of this “investment in people”. “There are no exact formulas, but science proves that adopting these proximity measures, paying attention to seniors and encouraging healthy habits, but above all these social relationships and emotional bonds are very important for quality of life and longevity and a guarantee of living longer, but living happily”, says Margarida Belém.

Monitoring has led to improvements “at a social level, the desire to live together”, points out Tânia Brandão. “I notice that there are people who, in the beginning, had neighbors and did not live with them. And since I started the activities and started to ‘pull’ them out a little, they started to live with other people too”, explains the gerontologist. The “way of communicating” is also “very different”, with “more openness”, after building a relationship of trust. “People are waiting for some topics to discuss with me the following week”, she illustrates.