Update - Survey Results
A sincere thank you to all those who participated in our Positive Ageing in the City of Onkaparinga survey conducted in April and May 2023. We had an outstanding response with just over 1150 surveys completed and around 360 people indicating their interest in contributing to positive ageing in the future.
Some of the key things we heard are outlined below. You can also read the full survey report for more detail.
We had a good spread of people living across the City of Onkaparinga who completed the survey with the majority aged 60-69 years (35%) and over 65% of them living in our area for 16 years or longer. Most survey respondents identified as Australian – non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (78.3%) and 63.6% indicated they access council programs, events and services.
From the survey responses we have learned a lot about what matters most to our older residents, and what they are passionate about. The top five things were:
- Being in control of their own decision making (85.1% of respondents)
- Managing their own health and wellbeing (84.6% of respondents)
- Being connected with family, relatives, or friends (84.3% of respondents)
- Feeling safe in the community (83.5% of respondents)
- Having a meaning and purpose in life (79.2% of respondents)
We also heard what is standing in the way of them being able to live their best life. The top five factors identified were:
- Cost/affordability of activities and living expenses (41.8% of respondents)
- Lack of information on what is available in my community (36.2% of respondents)
- Lack of local opportunities that meet my interests (23.5% of respondents)
- Poor physical or mental health/personal mobility (19.2% of respondents)
- Being unprepared for significant life events (17.9% of respondents)
We are continuing to analyse the responses and will use the information to help inform planning for future programs and services.
Background
We asked to hear from residents 50 years of age or over to understand what is important to them, to help plan our services and programs into the future.
Everyone deserves to live well and of course the things that enhance our wellbeing change over time.
Council actively supports older residents to live independently, continue learning, and have strong relationships.
Older residents are the lifeblood of our communities, contributing time and knowledge to a range of important causes, which is why we wanted to hear from them.
The survey was open through April and May 2023.
