EP57: Age-Friendly Ecosystems with Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN

Age-Friendly Ecosystems "It's a blessing to be an older adult." -Melissa Batchelor, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN For decades, advocates have called for communities, neighborhoods, and organizations like hospitals to become more "age-friendly." Although the idea of an age-friendly society has been promoted both locally and internationally, adoption remains more aspirational than an organized practice. In this week's episode of This Is Getting Old, Dr. Terry Fulmer and Amy Berman walk us through an overview of what it means to have created an Age-Friendly Ecosystem. Part One of 'The Age-friendly Ecosystems'. The John A. Hartford Foundation has been working with the Age-Friendly Foundation to convene leaders of these age-friendly movements. The goal is to help make the "age-friendly" moniker clear to all stakeholders in terms of what it means. At the George Washington University's Center for Aging, Health and Humanities, we have adapted the Age-Friendly Ecosystem to include Arts & Creativity.' What Exactly Is an Age-friendly Ecosystem? An Age-Friendly Ecosystem refers to the collective of all efforts to adapt society to meet older adults' needs. In simpler terms, Age-Friendly Ecosystems are the comprehensive, collectively built, and ever-expanding platform whose goal is to improve older adults' quality of life through enhanced, collective impact. Moreover, understanding the Age-Friendly Ecosystem draws on the social-ecological model that acknowledges the connections and interplay between older adults and their environments or contexts. Proponents of the Age-friendly Ecosystem Movement The Age-Friendly Ecosystem is a movement to create age-friendly cities and communities started by the World Health Organization and carried forward by AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) launched the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in 2017 to ensure the specific needs of older adults are met in health care. JAHF in 2018 then collaborated with the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) to involve public health agencies to expand the implementation of the age-friendly guidelines to the public health domain, acknowledging that these programs, notwithstanding their goals, have remained constrained and siloed. Many other organizations are advancing initiatives to make universities and businesses age-friendly. The Goals and Objectives of Age-Friendly Ecosystems The goal of Age-Friendly Ecosystems has been to help make the "age-friendly" moniker clear to all stakeholders regarding what it means and how it should be adapted. The work is leading to developing a common language and shared metrics so that anyone can recognize it and know what should be expected when we say "age-friendly." By working together across silos, different age-friendly initiatives can maximize their collective impact. "An Age-Friendly Ecosystem refers to the collective efforts to adapt society to meet older adults' needs worldwide." -Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN Guiding Principles and Frameworks of Age-friendly Ecosystems Each of the age-friendly initiatives has its guiding principles and frameworks. A big part of our effort is to help us understand those frameworks and what the shared characteristics are across them. The 4Ms Framework An Age-Friendly Health System reliably delivers evidence-based care that reduces harm and focuses on What Matters most to older adults and their families. It is based on what we call the 4Ms Framework – essential elements of care that need to be addressed for all older adults – What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. The 5Cs Framework The Age-Friendly Public Health Systems movement uses the 5Cs Framework: Connecting and convening sectors and professions Coordinating existing supports and services Collecting data to assess community health status Conducting, communicating, and disseminating research findings and best practices Complementing and supplementing existing supports and services, These frameworks are specific to the sector, clinical or public health in these examples but undergirding all of these frameworks are commonalities that lead us to the characteristics of an Age-Friendly Ecosystem. Part Two of 'The Age-friendly Ecosystems'. Characteristics of Age-friendly Ecosystems The convenings of leaders in the Age-Friendly Ecosystem, in addition to surveys of older adults, literature reviews, and expert interviews, have led to an understanding that several characteristics represent an age-friendly ecosystem. Understanding these characteristics helps us get to common language and metrics. A forthcoming journal article will explain these characteristics and their definitions. Age-Friendly Ecosystems: Current Standing in Terms of the Needed Common Language and Metrics Since the fall of 2020, the Age-Friendly Foundation has been drafting a measurement taxonomy. They did that by ...