As the population of older adults in the United States grows, alongside an increasing recognition of the salience of social determinants of health, the value of a public health approach to supporting the well-being of older adults is clear, according to an issue brief from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).
To explore potential public health roles in aging, TFAH convened stakeholders from public health, aging services, and healthcare and developed a framework that delineates the roles public health can play to promote older adult health and well-being.
The framework articulates five key public health roles:
- Connecting and convening multiple sectors and professions that provide the supports, services, and infrastructure to promote healthy aging.
- Coordinating existing supports and services to avoid duplication of efforts, identify gaps, and increase access to services and supports.
- Collecting data to assess community health status (including inequities) and aging population needs to inform the development of interventions.
- Conducting, communicating, and disseminating research findings and best practices to support healthy aging.
- Complementing and supplementing existing supports and services, particularly in terms of integrating clinical and population health approaches.
The full issue brief is available here.