Age Scotland

Take Five to Age Well (Take Five) is a healthy ageing initiative from The Open University that Age Scotland has been a partner in since 2022. The campaign offers encouragement and a framework for individuals to change habits for healthy ageing in one or more of The Open University’s ‘Five Pillars of Ageing Well’ areas: nutrition, hydration, physical, social and cognitive stimulation.

The main element of Take Five to date has been a UK-wide one-month online health pledge
campaign, running in September 2023 and in May 2025. For both runs in 2023 and 2025 a significant need was identified for additional paper-based non-digital ‘arm’ and resources that would enable Take Five participation by older people who are unable or unwilling to participate online and rely on the internet. The OU and Age Scotland’s co-designed and co-produced the non-digital Take Five and important materials that supported numerous groups across all Scotland in taking part in take Five 2023 and 2025 public health campaigns.

Age Scotland delivered the non-digital Take Five to Age Well to a group of five Job Centre Plus clients aged 50 plus at High Riggs Job Centre in Edinburgh. These were delivered over four weeks, with two pack sections covered each week except week four, which covered one pack section followed by Age Scotland’s Body Boosting Bingo movement game. A prototype workbook for individual participants was also tested, this eliciting positive feedback. The Job Centre plus service surveyed participants and shared on completion of week four and shared findings. 

Read the Age Scotland full report.

I did not have a clue about how my body was till I came here

Client, Job Centre Plus

 

AgeWell Healthy Ageing Programme: Blog Report

Bridgit Care, April 2026

AgeWell: scaling healthy ageing through AI, community and social impact

Healthy ageing is one of the UK’s most important challenges and opportunities. As people live longer, the question is no longer only about lifespan, but about quality of life, independence, confidence and connection.
The AgeWell Healthy Ageing programme, led by Jitka and supported by Darren Crombie and the Bridgit Care team, shows how evidence-based wellbeing guidance, trusted community partnerships and accessible AI support can work together to help people take practical steps towards ageing well.

What is AgeWell?

AgeWell is a digital healthy ageing support platform designed to help people live well for longer. It offers friendly, personalised support across the Open University’s Five Pillars approach to healthy ageing, helping users think about movement, eating well, hydration, mental stimulation and social engagement.
The platform is available at agewell.bridgit.care and has been provided by Bridgit Care as part of its social enterprise mission to give back to communities. It is free to use, simple to access and designed to provide practical advice at the point someone needs it.

How the AgeWell platform supports people

The AgeWell platform gives users access to AI coaches who can provide:

  • Practical advice in plain English.
  • Step-by-step checklists and personalised plans.
  • Encouragement to make small, manageable changes.
  • Support for physical, mental, creative and social wellbeing.
  • Signposting and prompts that help users understand what to do next.

Early use shows that people are not only asking general questions. They are bringing real-life, personal goals and challenges to the platform, such as improving movement, eating better, drinking more water, reducing unhealthy habits, managing weight during menopause, or breaking down creative projects into achievable steps.

Early engagement and learning

The interim reporting period from April to June 2025 recorded 78 users, 992 chat messages exchanged and 38 support documents generated. User locations included DE4, EH15, Hull and N16. Since then, the programme has continued to show that more than 100 people have used the app, demonstrating clear early demand and engagement.

The most active AI coaches were Movement Mary, Eat Well Emma, Hydrate Harry, Thinking Trey and Engaging Evelyn. Conversations were particularly strong around movement, eating well and hydration, with users frequently asking for practical, structured support.

The key learning is that people value simple, actionable guidance. Users asked for checklists, plans and clear next steps. They also used the platform for broader wellbeing goals, including creative activity and confidence-building. This matters because healthy ageing is not just about exercise and diet; it is also about purpose, connection, confidence and staying mentally active.

Why Bridgit Care provided the platform

Bridgit Care provided the AgeWell platform because it aligns strongly with its mission as a social enterprise: to use technology to extend access to support, reduce barriers and help people earlier.
AgeWell is free to use. This is important. Preventative support should not only be available to people who already know where to go, who can pay, or who are already connected to services. A free digital support tool can reach people in communities before they are in crisis and can help them take small actions that protect wellbeing over time.
Bridgit Care’s role has been to turn the Five Pillars approach into an accessible digital experience. The platform allows users to interact with friendly AI coaches, receive tailored support, generate plans and explore practical next steps. It also creates a scalable way for community organisations to promote healthy ageing without placing additional pressure on frontline teams.

The opportunity to scale

The early results are positive, but the bigger opportunity is still ahead.
More than 100 people have already used the app. With the right promotion, the same platform could support thousands of people across communities. It can act as a key support tool for local healthy ageing work, community engagement, prevention, wellbeing campaigns and voluntary sector outreach.
To unlock this, AgeWell needs promotion through trusted community networks. Age UK partners, Carers Trust Network partners, local voluntary sector organisations, community groups and health and wellbeing services could all play an important role in helping people discover and use the platform.

A call to partners

AgeWell is ready to be shared more widely. The ask is simple: help promote it as a free, practical and accessible support tool for healthy ageing.
Partners can help by:

  • Sharing the agewell.bridgit.care link through newsletters, websites and social media.
  • Introducing the platform in community groups and wellbeing sessions.
  • Encouraging staff and volunteers to use it as a first-line digital support option.
  • Embedding it into healthy ageing campaigns and local prevention work.
  • Helping gather feedback so the platform can continue to improve.

Final thoughts

AgeWell shows what is possible when academic insight, community knowledge and practical AI technology come together around a shared mission.
Led by Jitka, supported by Darren Crombie and delivered through Bridgit Care’s agewell.bridgit.care platform, the programme has already shown that people are willing to engage with digital support when it is friendly, useful and relevant to their lives.
The next step is scale. With the support of Age UK, Carers Trust Network partners and wider community organisations, AgeWell can move from helping hundreds of people to supporting thousands, giving more people the confidence, ideas and practical tools they need to age well.

Source notes

This blog is based on the AgeWell Interim Report for April-June 2025 and updated programme notes provided by BridgitCare.