Building and Sustaining Aging in Place Through the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) Ambassadors...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Community Health
• Participatory Design

Background:

• Most older adults desire to age in place, but require community support systems.
• Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) are geographic areas with a high concentration of older adults, ideal for community mobilization.
• Existing NORCs can be leveraged to develop supportive networks for aging in place.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the creation and evaluation of the NORC Ambassadors program.
• To assess the program's effectiveness in fostering resident-led, aging-in-place support groups.
• To determine the program's suitability for integration into a larger NORC model.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a participatory approach to develop the NORC Ambassadors program.
• Implemented resident-led groups within NORC buildings.
• Evaluated the program's sustainability and impact on aging in place.

Main Results:

• The NORC Ambassadors program was successfully created and evaluated.
• The program demonstrated the potential for sustainable, resident-led support networks.
• The initiative's success led to its adoption by the NORC Innovation Centre at UHN.

Conclusions:

• The NORC Ambassadors program effectively supports aging in place through community mobilization.
• Participatory, resident-led initiatives are key to creating sustainable support systems for older adults.
• The program's successful evaluation facilitated its integration into a broader NORC model at UHN.