Title: The AdvantAge Initiative

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Section/SPIG: Aging & Public Health

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A Project of the Center for Home Care Policy and Research
Visiting Nurse Service of New York

The AdvantAge Initiative assists communities in collecting and using consumer-derived information to design action plans for improving their elder-friendliness. Over the past four years, the project team has worked with 10 communities to pilot a survey and a set of 33 indicators that provide stakeholders with a “data snapshot” of how well older people are faring in their communities. The project team has also provided stakeholders with technical assistance to interpret, prioritize, and communicate the survey information to the larger community. Stakeholders are using the information to raise awareness about aging, identify and prioritize issues, and develop and implement plans to address them.

In 2003 the AdvantAge Initiative conducted a national survey of people age 65 and over using the same survey questionnaire and 33 indicators—which cover a wide range of areas including affordable housing, neighborhood safety, availability of health and supportive services, personal health, financial well-being, volunteerism, and social and cultural opportunities. The national survey results, released in April 2004, provide a snapshot of the status of older people overall in the United States and also represent “averages” or “norms” with which community survey results may be compared. For the national survey report and fact sheets as well as more information about the AdvantAge Initiative, see <http://www.advantageinitiative.org>.