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What a CHP Grant Can Do - To improve healthy aging

By: NWHF Staff | Posted on: June 21st, 2011 | 2 comments | Share:
Categories: Grantee Reports • Public Health

healthy aging forums

Guest author: Shannon M Proctor-Hussey, Healthy Aging Coalition

A Summary of Healthy Aging Forums conducted in Spring 2011 in Corvallis, Albany, and Lebanon

The Healthy Aging Coalition conducted community forums to engage members of the city and surrounding communities in a discussion about healthy aging.  We chose to use a modified version of the World Café style of forum.  The modifications were to keep people at the same table for all questions instead of having people travel from table to table for each question.  This was done in order to accommodate participants who may not be as mobile and ensure we could create robust discussion about healthy aging during the short time frame given.  Jennifer Mead, from DHS-Healthy Aging, started the forum by framing the subject of healthy aging with definitions, best-practices, and personal experience in programming related to healthy aging.

Four questions were created and geared to develop deeper thought about what it takes to age in a healthy way:
1) What does healthy aging mean to us as individuals and as a community?
2) What do you think we will need to stay healthy as we age?
3) What do you think we will need as a community to support us as we age?
4) What are the steps that you think we need to take to achieve health as individuals and as a community?

Each question was given 15 minutes of discussion before we moved on to the next question.  Each table was facilitated by OSU Students and other members of the coalition who had received training on forum facilitation by a member of the coalition.  The last 15 minutes of the forum was a large group discussion about main themes and innovative ideas the tables had found during their discussions.

In all three communities we found themes that encouraged greater intergenerational connectedness, community involvements, independence, respite relief, better access to transportation, access to healthy food and exercise, and need for community infrastructure changes.  In each community the messages for these themes were very similar; provide programs to encourage the community at large to value and utilize the skills of each member of the community.  Provide assistance to those who need it for housing, health care, transportation, and any other service that someone needs to live a healthy life.  Ensure that sidewalks, parks, and pathways are available for the community to use and enjoy in safety.  Finally, we need to take care of each member as if they are a valuable part of your community, because they are. 

The Healthy Aging Coalition has gained some very valuable insights into each of these communities needs and will use the insights and ideas found in these forums to determine where to start programming that does not exist, bolster existing programs, and advocate change in policy to affect these communities in such a way that each member can begin to feel supported in their healthy aging by their communities and their community partners.

We are thankful to the Northwest Health Foundation for our Community Health Priorities grant for enabling us to start this discussion.  We would also like to thank all of our volunteers and participants for making this initial step toward healthy aging in our community as huge success.

Please help us keep the discussion going by adding your voice and thoughts to the mix on this blog and help your community prioritize needs as we grow, change, and evolve!