The Indigo 4Ms

Indigo 4Ms Age-Friendly Health Care

Health and community services are an essential part of creating age-friendly communities. The Indigo 4Ms program of work is a collaborative approach to addressing the challenges of providing comprehensive, integrated care for older people living in rural northeast Victoria. Age-friendly health care ensures older people can live longer in better health.

Indigo 4Ms Framework

The Indigo 4Ms Framework brings together evidence-based guidelines in four interconnected areas:

Action in these four areas can prevent, slow, or even reverse common age-related difficulties in hearing, seeing, moving, and remembering, enabling older people to continue to flourish and participate in community life.

Indigo 4Ms Age-Friendly Health Care

About Indigo 4Ms

  • How was the Indigo 4Ms Framework developed?

    In 2018-20, Better Care Victoria funded older people and clinicians from across the Ovens and Murray region to collaborate using a co-design approach that assessed two best-practice models—the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s 4Ms Framework and the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People guidelines—and academic findings to build a rural-specific approach to integrated care: the Indigo 4Ms Framework.

    An economic evaluation of the Indigo 4Ms Framework showed substantial cost savings if age-friendly care was delivered to older people living in north east Victoria.

  • Who was involved?

    The project was led by Beechworth Health Service, and involved the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research at La Trobe University Albury Wodonga, older people, and health services from across north east Victoria including:

    • Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service
    • Albury Wodonga Health
    • Alpine Health
    • Corryong Health
    • Gateway Health
    • Northeast Health Wangaratta
    • Tallangatta Health Service
    • Yackandandah Health

    Download Report

  • How were the Indigo 4Ms Tools developed?

    From 2021-23, the Australian Government funded a project to co-design new tools to assist people to use the Indigo 4Ms Framework. Over forty older people and health workers took part in the co-design workshops which produced two resources.

Indigo 4Ms Tools

The Indigo 4Ms
Tool for older people

The Indigo 4Ms tool for older people is a series of questions or prompts about health and wellbeing for older people to consider. By using the tool, older people can make a personalised health and wellbeing plan to improve and maintain their health as they age. Using the tool in meetings with their health team means older people will be better equipped to participate fully in conversations and decision-making.

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The Indigo 4Ms
Tool for primary health care workers

The Indigo 4Ms tool for primary health care workers guides health workers in conversations with older people through the Indigo 4Ms to address the commonly missed, essential areas of care. Together, the healthcare worker and an older person, can plan to improve and maintain an older person’s health as they age.

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The Indigo 4Ms tools are currently being implemented across northeast Victoria through two approaches: the Indigo 4Ms in the community and Indigo 4Ms in primary health care.

Why it’s important for leaders to champion the Indigo 4Ms tool

How the Indigo 4Ms tool supports your work

The Indigo 4Ms tool in action

Download the Facilitator's Guide

  • Want to know more about the work of Age-Friendly North East Victoria?

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