Abstract
Background: Healthy ageing, which, like the WHO definition of health, involves physical, emotional, and social well-being, is a concept that guides the actions of Long-Term Care Institutions for Older Adults (LTCF). To achieve this goal, they must consider residents' biographies, desires, and needs as part of their good practices, valuing Person-Centred Care, which is often made impossible by the high costs of LTCF. Creativity and volunteering are fundamental to overcoming these challenges. One of the obstacles to advancing the quality of care in LTCFs is the distance between these institutions and the community, which fuels prejudice against these homes.
Approach/Objectives: To present the Pedalando Sem Idade (PSI)/Cycling Without Age (CWA) in Vila Project, Open Doors LTCF, held at Associação Convivência Vila do Sol, in Rio de Janeiro. PSI is the translation of the Cycling Without Aging (CWA, Denmark) initiative, present in more than 50 countries. The movement, started by Ole Kassow in 2012, integrates older adults into cycling, overcoming limitations with adapted tricycles and allowing free rides (CWA, 2024). The objective is to make active citizenship accessible to everyone, promoting happiness and social integration. Training was carried out for LTCF teams as tricycle guides in the precepts of gerontology, enabling recurring trips for LTCF residents and workers.
Results: PSI at Vila, in partnership with volunteers, provides trips for workers and residents of all ages and levels of autonomy in squares, parks, and beaches. Trained volunteers promote intergenerational meetings, reduce sedentary lifestyles and social isolation, and reduce the distance between the LTCF and the community. The visibility of older adults as subjects of rights increases. Caregivers are brought together through physical activity and fun, improving sleep quality, nutrition, and hydration. Meetings strengthen bonds and keep collective memory alive. The initiative occupies public spaces, designing an inclusive city for everyone.
Final Considerations: This partnership is a good practice in LTCF. Volunteering committed to managing the quality of Person-Centred Care has replicable positive results: the democratisation of fun and protection of rights, social inclusion, and active participation of older people in Brazilian cities.
Implications: Through projects that involve the various people involved in the broad concept of care (residents, socio-family network, workers, volunteers, and community), we expand the idea of collective care based on the concept of Aging in Place. Everyone is involved in facing broad and varied issues for ageing societies, reducing prejudices such as ageism and thus contributing to education for ageing. With successful experiences like this, the objective is to raise awareness among legislators to transform actions like these into public long-term care policies.
Keywords: Social Inclusion, LTCF, Urban Spaces.