In Finland, the population is ageing rapidly, especially in rural areas. Regardless of the place of residence, public social and healthcare services have a statutory obligation to support the functional capacity of older people through preventive services, which must be consistent and equally available. Older people should be seen as active participants and included in the development of services.

The purpose of this thesis, commissioned by the Council for Older and Disabled People in Kärkölä municipality and Kärkölä municipality, was to explore what type of preventive social and healthcare services would strengthen the functional capacity of older people living in rural areas as described by themselves. The aim was to explore older people’s perceptions of the activities of the senior counselling centre as a preventive intervention.

The thesis was implemented as a research-based development activity. A survey aimed at older people was used for data acquisition. The activities of senior counselling centres were benchmarked in different parts of Finland and previous research literature was used as support. As a participative development activity, a model for the activities of a senior counselling centre was piloted in Kärkölä municipality. Thereafter, based on the feedback received from the pilot, the reflection and the results of the survey, a final model for a senior counselling centre was created.

The results revealed that a senior counselling centre as a preventive social and healthcare model is perceived as necessary to maintain functional capacity and as a factor strengthening living of older people in rural areas.