Social determinants of health are the environments where people grow up, work, live, and age that influence our health and well-being throughout our lives. The context, situations, and systems that people are exposed to also shape our outcomes throughout life. The 13 aging-friendly characteristics are examples of social determinants of health that impact community members’ well-being.
How you choose to use the assessment should be based on your community’s needs, the goals of the group you are presenting to, how much time the group has to commit to this, etc. In this section, each of the 13 characteristics are described, including data sources that may be helpful; activities that can help spur thinking and understanding; success stories from Wisconsin and beyond, and resources and ideas communities can use when formulating their next steps. When planning your program, some or all of these tools may be useful.
Data:
- For data-driven groups, we also include suggestions of data sources that can support the assessment of and conversation surrounding the current age-friendliness of each characteristic.
- It is important to talk about the causes of the demographic change and solutions. This helps people to see this as an opportunity and not a threat.
- Considering concrete data – often readily available in departmental and administrative records – can help community leaders better understand these issues and supplement their own subjective experience and what they have heard from their constituents.
- For example, one aging-friendly metric evaluates whether “pedestrian crossings are sufficient in number and safe for people with different levels and types of disability, with nonslip markings, visual and audio cues and adequate crossing times”. Your community may be able to obtain information on the proportion of pedestrian crossings with nonslip markings, informing your evaluation of this criterion. You and your stakeholders are the most knowledgeable about what information will be available and useful.
- Some general data resources might include:
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- AARP Livability Index
- County Health Rankings
- Applied Population Lab
- The report “Livable Community Indicators for Sustainable Aging in Place” has numerous suggestions of indicators and data sources, some of which are highlighted below
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Activities:
- Other groups will connect better with activities that help them think about the needs of their aging community members related to each characteristic.
- We include some activity suggestions for each characteristic.
- The goal of these activities is to help participants step into the shoes of an older adult. Activities should help participants to realize we are all aging and as we age we need different options and supports in place to help us flourish, stay active, and make the most of this earned leisure
Success Stories and Resources:
- Success stories and resources are provided to help you identify the possible next steps for improving the aging-friendliness of each characteristic.
- Highlighting concrete solutions will help your audience to engage in outcome and systems-level thinking.
- The audience must view this as an opportunity for collaboration and innovation, rather than a threat or crisis.
- The creativity and community knowledge of each group will dictate the best next steps – the examples included in this section are simply to help spur their thinking and highlight successes in other communities.
- Some general ideas for the next steps may also come from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps “What Works for Health”
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