Examining collaboration across organizations in an age-friendly community

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Community Health
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Age-friendly environments are crucial for supporting older adults.
• Inter-organizational collaboration is recognized as a key strategy for enhancing service delivery to seniors.
• Understanding the extent and nature of collaboration is vital for optimizing community support systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the degree to which organizations collaborate within age-friendly communities.
• To identify patterns of collaboration in providing services to older adults.
• To explore the implications of collaboration (or lack thereof) for older adults' access to holistic care.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 48 semi-structured qualitative interviews.
• Interviewed representatives from organizations serving older adults in an age-friendly community.
• Employed qualitative analysis to understand collaboration dynamics.

Main Results:

• Organizations demonstrated capacity for collaboration across diverse service sectors and organizational types.
• Findings revealed varied levels of inter-organizational cooperation.
• Some organizations were not actively collaborating with others.

Conclusions:

• Collaboration among organizations is feasible and occurs across multiple sectors for older adult services.
• Lack of collaboration can lead to missed opportunities for older adults to access complementary services.
• Enhancing inter-organizational partnerships is essential for meeting the holistic needs of older adults in age-friendly communities.