Age Friendly Care: What do Community Aging Services Professionals Need to Know?

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Health Education

Background:

• Older adults face complex medical needs requiring community-based health education.
• Community Aging Services Professionals (CASPs) are non-medical providers supporting aging in place.
• CASPs offer health education, socialization, and care coordination in community settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess CASPs' knowledge of older adults' medical issues and health education requirements.
• To evaluate the alignment of CASPs' practices with the Age Friendly Health System 4Ms framework.
• To identify opportunities for enhancing clinical health education for CASPs serving older adults.

Main Methods:

• In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 CASPs.
• Qualitative data analysis explored CASPs' perspectives on medical issues and health education.
• The study examined the overlap between CASPs' roles and the 4Ms framework.

Main Results:

• CASPs actively promote older adult health through referrals, education, and advice.
• CASPs report feeling underprepared to provide requested medical support.
• Both CASPs and older adults desire enhanced clinical education for managing medical conditions.
• The Age Friendly Health System 4Ms model is well-received for community health education.

Conclusions:

• CASPs are well-positioned to deliver clinical health education to older adults aging in the community.
• There is a clear need for improved clinical training for CASPs.
• The 4Ms framework provides a valuable structure for community-based age-friendly health education.