Austria
Promoting social inclusion among vulnerable older people through home visits.
This project (2002-2005) sought to improve quality of life and promote social inclusion of people aged 55-80 living in three districts of Vienna, through dynamic home visits paying special attention to migrants and other socially disadvantaged groups. The idea behind home visits was ensuring that the hardest-to-reach, most isolated and vulnerable groups of the population were reached by the project.
Evaluation was conducted through qualitative interviews with older people in their homes, coupled with quantitative questionnaires in the initial and last project phases, with a sample of 149 older people answering both questionnaires (45% of first sample). Overall, the evaluation results indicated that the project had been successful in intensifying participation in social activities and raising awareness of local services and information among participants. Although the project had a special focus on vulnerable groups, the majority of participants represented middle and higher social groups. The project was assessed to have a high level of sustainability and transferability to other settings. No cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out.