A Web-Based Approach for Helping Communities Become More “Aging Friendly”

Abstract

This article describes an online conference and supporting Web site designed to help communities become better places in which to age. The "Creating Aging-Friendly Communities" online conference was designed to capture the emerging knowledge being accumulated by researchers, advocacy groups, grassroots organizations, and local governments across the country, and make it available to others who were interested in learning what they could do to make their communities more aging friendly. The article begins with a brief overview of the concept of "aging-friendliness," followed by evidence regarding the effectiveness of online modalities as mechanisms for knowledge dissemination. It then describes the innovative conference format, examining the extent to which the conference goals were achieved. The article concludes with implications for online learning modalities in general and efforts to foster aging-friendly communities in particular.

Current Status and Policy Planning for Promoting Age-Friendly Cities in Taitung County: Dialogue Between Older Adults and Service Providers

“…This point is consistent with the arguments presented by Lehning et al, namely that the development of AFC policies should consider the aging population in cities and counties as well as the development of infrastructure, thereby revealing the importance of adopting diverse AFC policies. Moreover, aging is an ecological model when assuming that physical and social environments affect aging in place and quality of life during the aging process [ 7 ]. With regard to the four regions explored in this study, older adults in each region had different demands concerning the AFC domains, which was consistent with the service providers’ opinions.…”

“…Although the AFC project has become a pertinent program for the aging population in Taiwan, its development should consider the trend of the aging population as well as the development of infrastructure in counties and cities, thereby requiring a diversified policy approach. Moreover, aging is an ecological model when assuming that physical and social environments affect aging in place and quality of life during the aging process [ 7 ]. That is, how an age-friendly social and physical environment is established determines how older adults age in place and maintain a high quality of life [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Conceptualizing Age-Friendly Communities

“…The narrowing of the rural-urban digital divide (Statistics Canada, 2009) also opens new opportunities, which have the potential to address some of the transportation challenges, in rural areas. Online conferences can also help to forge connections and offer opportunities to share expertise across communities (Lehning, Scharlach, & Dal Santo, 2010 ). Research will be needed to examine how the Internet can contribute to age-friendliness and, indeed, how it might promote virtual age-friendly communities.…”

Preventing Mobility Barriers to Inclusion for People With Intellectual Disabilities

“…From that viewpoint, it is neither the environmental barriers nor accessibility that should be the primary focus but rather the individual's need and desire to perform certain activities and the factors that might affect performance, both positively and negatively. Lehning, Scharlach, and Dal Santo () supplied another perspective as they described an ecological model of aging aimed at aging‐in‐place . They posited that an aging‐friendly community increases social integration, reduces automobile dependence, and offers the following components: a range of accessible and affordable housing, multiple forms of transportation and mobility supports, access to healthcare and needed support services, as well as opportunities for community involvement through social interaction and meaningful activities.…”