Developing Improved and Expanded Communication Networks and Information Dissemination Methods for Health Promotion Among Older Adults in Orange County, North Carolina
Creators: name: Weinhold, Andy
name: LaMotte, Deanna
name: Black, Melissa
name: Frank, Jennifer
name: Kolander, Chelsea
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2013

description: Background: North Carolina's over-65 population is projected to more than double between the years 2000 and 2030. Orange County (OC), in particular, expects its status as a desirable retirement destination to lead to dramatic increases in the already large population of older adults. This rapid increase will likely pose many challenges to individuals, families, and services in OC due to higher demand for health and human services, issues surrounding caregiving and long-term care, as well as the unique housing and transportation needs of urban and rural older adults. The Orange County Department on Aging (OCDOA) has responded to the growing numbers of older adults in the county by developing an ambitious 5-year Master Aging Plan (MAP), which encompasses far more than senior center programming. The MAP's goals include improving access to community support services (CSSs), enabling more older adults to age in place, preventing abuse and exploitation, empowering older adults to achieve optimal health, and facilitating their engagement in the community. All of these goals require OCDOA to reach as many older adults in the county as possible with information about both OCDOA's internal programming and also resources available in the community. In the process of developing the MAP, improved information dissemination emerged as a top priority. OCDOA recruited the 2012-13 Health Behavior Capstone team to develop a comprehensive dissemination plan to meet the needs of the MAP activities and goals. Methods: The Capstone team collected data to assess how older adults in the county prefer to access information about senior center programming and CSSs and also to explore residents' barriers and facilitators to exercise. In the fall, the team summarized relevant literature into an Evidence Table on Communication Channels and an Evidence Table on Barriers and Facilitators to Exercise and conducted a survey of county residents aged 50+ at ten polling sites, collecting 840 responses. Informed by the literature and survey data, the team then developed a key informant interview guide and a focus group guide to further explore these two research areas. The team completed 13 key informant interviews with service providers working specifically with older adults and three focus groups, attended largely by older county residents who were not familiar with OCDOA's activities. The team then compiled, analyzed, and interpreted the data in collaboration with OCDOA staff and produced a Communication Channels Report and an Exercise Report identifying key findings and opportunities for intervention. Finally, the team developed a Dissemination Plan to expand OCDOA's reach to residents throughout Orange County. Implications: Key informant interviews revealed that other local aging-related organizations have had the same challenges as OCDOA in reaching older OC residents, largely due to vast differences between the urban and rural populations. Interviewees were excited about this research and asked for a copy of the Capstone team's results, indicating that Capstone activities will expand access to services not only via OCDOA but also other organizations who serve the county's older adult population. Data clearly highlight the need for OCDOA to cultivate information dissemination networks, utilizing already-trusted information sources such as churches, physicians, and the Sherif's Department. Results also highlight OCDOA’s need to provide more interactive Internet resources, especially for the large population of highly educated "baby boomers" now approaching retirement. More broadly, this work confirms the notion that the older adult population in OC is diverse, open to using technology, and more focused on achieving independence and a high quality of life than "being served" by social services.