NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA)
Brookdale Demonstration Initiative
In Healthy Urban Aging:
Bridging the Divide Between Public Health & Healthy Aging
Project Background:
Prepared for the New York City Department for the Aging, the Brookdale Demonstration Initiative in Healthy Urban Aging is a 3-year project to:
- assess health and social well-being among older adults attending senior centers;
- implement pilot evidence-based health promotion/self-care management programs for diabetes and depression in senior centers serving largely Hispanic elders ; and
- evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of intervention programs designed to address and reduce health disparities among older adults attending senior centers.
The project was funded August 1, 2007 by the NYC Mayor’s Office to extend Brookdale’s successful pilot survey of health and social status of senior center participants to a fully representative sample of elders attending approximately 300 senior centers across all five NYC boroughs. The goal of the Brookdale Demonstration Initiative is to develop valid, reliable, and representative evidence for public policy makers and practitioners seeking to address health and social concerns of older adults to enhance and empower healthy aging in place in NYC’s neighborhoods. It is hoped this initiative will help contribute to the advancement of sustainable improvements in quality of life for older adults in New York City through evidence-based practice, programs, and policies for the 21 st century.
Products:
Several products are forthcoming as a result of the Initiative. The following reports and briefs are now available:
NYC Senior Center Survey Years 1 & 2
Final Report
In partnership with the NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA), the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging & Longevity (Brookdale) has designed and implemented a baseline survey of older adults attending senior centers, with attention to the multiple levels of individual, social and physical environments affecting healthy urban aging in New York City . In 2006, with funding from NYC DFTA, Brookdale conducted the first health status assessment of older adults attending senior centers. Building upon the success of the pilot, the current report presents the results of a larger, representative survey, launched in 2008, of senior center participants.
As a first step toward meeting the challenges of developing an evidence base to promote healthy urban aging New Yorkers, Brookdale staff conducted over 1800 face-to-face interviews of older adults attending senior centers. Results of the baseline health assessment are presented in this report. The survey results are intended to serve as a baseline to help guide development and evaluation of programs and policies to enhance and empower aging in place in NYC’s neighborhoods. (Click here to download the full report)
Evidence-Based Toolkit: Program Summaries and Implementation Guide
The Evidence-Based Toolkit (Toolkit) is a compendium of selected programs that address the seven leading preventable chronic conditions among older adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those seven conditions are: Arthritis, Cancer, Depression, Diabetes, Falls, Heart disease, and Obesity.
Thirty-five programs, culled from over 100 evidence-based programs, are included in the Toolkit. These programs are termed evidence-based in that their effectiveness in producing significant health outcomes has been rigorously studied and documented in peer-reviewed scholarly literature. Moreover, they can feasibly be implemented in community settings such as NYC senior centers based on program duration and senior center staffing.
The Toolkit is comprised of three (3) components:
- Programs Summaries and Implementation Guide
- Condition Specific Instruments
- Cross-Cutting Instruments
Please NOTE: The three components have been merged into a single product for your convenience. An instruction guide is available for download HERE.
Evaluation of Selected Evidence-Based Interventions - Final Report
In this final year of the project, two evidence-based interventions addressing diabetes and
depression, the Spanish Diabetes Self Management Program (S-DSMP), also called Tomando
Control, and Improving Mood-Promoting Access to Collaborative Treatment for Late-Life
Depression (IMPACT), were adapted, implemented and evaluated in 10 NYC senior centers.
Diabetes and depression, two of the CDC top seven chronic conditions among older adults,
were selected due to their high prevalence and burden to individuals, their families, and the
health care delivery system, of which could be alleviated through implementation of best
practices in local community settings, such as senior centers. In partnership with the NYC
Taskforce on Hispanic Elders' Health, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ), we focused on the Latino population to address striking health disparities found
in our survey. Below, we underscore several important findings from our implementation and
evaluation of two evidence-based programs addressing diabetes and depression in selected
NYC senior settings serving Latino populations. (Click here to download the full report)
Health Indicators Project Issue Brief Series
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This multi-part series presents selected findings from the 2008 Health Indicators Project (HIP) survey, specifically highlighting results with regard to the seven leading preventable chronic conditions among older adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- Arthritis, Cancer, Depression, Diabetes, Falls, Heart disease, and Obesity. Other important health issues affecting the older adult population, such as flu immunization and dental health, are also addressed.
Healthy Aging: A Public Health Challenge for the 21st Century
Download the Powerpoint presentation from the lecture presented by Marianne C. Fahs, PhD, MPH, Professor of Health Policy & Management, CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College at the Presbyterian Church on November 11, 2010.
This projet has been coordinated through the efforts of |