[Establishing Age-Friendly Community Guidelines in Taiwan]

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health Policy
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Taiwan is rapidly transitioning into a super-aged society, necessitating proactive measures to address the societal impacts of aging.
• Establishing age-friendly environments is crucial for government policy to ensure comprehensive social welfare and support for aging in place.

Approach:

• Developed guidelines based on the World Health Organization's Age-Friendly Cities framework, literature review, and expert consultations.
• Conducted three rounds of expert surveys to refine guidelines, ensuring correctness, appropriateness, and importance through iterative feedback and amendments.

Key Points:

• The Taiwan Age-friendly Community Guidelines encompass 38 specific guidelines across eight domains: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civil participation and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services.
• Guidelines are detailed in clear, accessible language to define the goals of age-friendly communities.
• Provides a practical reference for community personnel to promote age-friendly environments.

Conclusions:

• The developed guidelines offer a structured framework for creating age-friendly communities in Taiwan.
• These guidelines are essential for implementing targeted social welfare measures to facilitate successful aging in place.
• The comprehensive nature of the guidelines addresses multiple facets of community living to support an aging population.