Performing Department
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Non Technical Summary
The population of Colorado adults aged 65+ is projected to double between 2020 and 2050. While older adults contribute to the rich social fabric of their rural communities, factors such as geographic isolation, lack of transportation, and limited access to services are known to detrimentally impact health outcomes. Moreover, rural residence is associated with an increased risk for isolation and decreased access to social support resources. COVID-19 radically compounded these challenges, increasing social isolation and compromising the physical and mental health of many older adults.Our project aims to strengthen community capacity to support the complex social and health challenges that older adults face in rural communities and reduce isolation and loneliness through peer-to-peer connection. Our approach involves training Colorado State University Extensionspecialists and community partners to effectively respond to aging-related issues in their communities and scaling up the delivery of the Aging Mastery Program (AMP) in rural Colorado in alignment with cultural values of older adults, particularly Spanish-speaking populations. AMP is a 10-course evidence-based program, developed by the National Council on Aging, that educates and empowers older adults to take charge of their health.As a result of our efforts, we expect our work to be a catalyst to greater resource access, social engagement, and collective sense of belonging among rural older adults. We also expect to see an increase in rural residents addressing barriers to care seeking, engaging in health-promoting activities, and solving critical community health challenges. Our evaluation efforts will include data from diverse populations within rural Colorado, contributing new perspectives to the national evaluation of AMP and other healthy aging community initiatives.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Our project aims to strengthen community capacity to support the complex health-related challenges that older adults experience in rural Colorado, leading to an overall improved quality of life. We aim to achieve these goals through three project components:Objective 1.Increase the capacity and confidence of CSU Extension professionals and community partners to respond to aging-related needs and challenges in their communities through trainings and technical assistance.Objective 2.Increase the number of CSU Extension professionals and community partners who are trained to facilitate the Aging Mastery Program (AMP) in rural and Spanish-speaking communities across Colorado.Objective 3.Implement the Aging Mastery Program in eight new rural Colorado communities, with at least four of the eight programs delivered in Spanish.
Project Methods
Project methods and efforts:Objective 1.Increase the capacity and confidence of CSU Extension professionals and community partners to respond to aging-related needs and challenges in their communities through trainings and TA.To determine potential topics for the AHA Webinar Series, we will administer a survey to CSU Extensionspecialists and their identified community partners to inquire about topics of interest related to healthy aging. Then, utilizing our team and the expertise from over 70 faculty at CSU interested in healthy aging, we will develop a series of webinars that targets the greatest interests of CSUE specialists and their partners and which respond to community needs that they have identified.The AHA Webinar Series will be offered using online distance learning in which Extension offices and community partners will have virtual viewing parties to engage with topics identified and created during year 1.We plan to engage at least 25 Extension specialists in the AHA Webinar Series who represent different program areas including Family and Consumer Sciences, Community Development and Agriculture and Natural Resources.Following the training, we will provide technical assistance to help local Extension offices build their expertise, resource databases and aging programming throughout the remainder of the RHSE project.Surveys will be distributed to participants of the AHA Webinar Series to evaluate changes in confidence and knowledge gained in regard to supporting aging-related needs in their community.Objective 2.Increase the number of CSU Extension professionals and community partners who are trained to facilitate the Aging Mastery Program in rural and Spanish-speaking communities across Colorado.We will develop a formal training process for Extension professionals and community partners to access the information and skills they need to implement the Aging Mastery Program. The training will incorporate a language justice model of simultaneous interpretation that alternates seamlessly between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking instructors.We will develop a training manual in English and Spanish that will be used at our trainings.A 2023 CSUE survey identified 14 CSUE professionals who are interested in becoming AMP facilitators. We will invite those individuals to join the AMP training as well as reach out across the 63 CSUE county offices to identify other interested colleagues. We will ask each CSUE professional who joins the training to invite at least one community partner who is interested in co-leading AMP. We will also reach out to the Trailhead Institute, who employs a public health workforce of 21 Regional Health Connectors across the state of Colorado, to help identify community partners interested in facilitating AMP. Trailhead staff will also help us outreach and market the new AMP programs.Surveys will be distributed to participants of the AMP facilitator training to assess satisfaction and knowledge gains. Results will be used to improve future AMP facilitator trainings.Objective 3.Implement the Aging Mastery Program in eight new rural Colorado communities, with at least four of the eight AMP delivered in Spanish.The project team will provide TA to all new AMP facilitators for program planning, implementation and language justice to support newly trained facilitators. Our Spanish AMP Coordinator will provide Spanish-language TA for each of the new CSUE AMP host sites implementing language access and equity programs. This coordinator will coach communities on interpretation, translation, marketing, scheduling and cultural best practices.Project evaluation:Objective 1:We will assess CSUE and community partners' confidence in responding to aging-related needs in their communities, knowledge of aging issues and their perceptions of impact on their communities as it relates to healthy aging programs and initiatives. Baseline assessments (i.e., before participants engage in the AHA Webinar Series) and post-assessments (i.e., after participation in the AHA Webinar Series) will be conducted to assess change in outcomes.Participant satisfaction of the AHA Webinar Series and TA will be assessed, along with attendance and participation. We expect a significant improvement in outcomes, and that 70% of participants will utilize TA and participate in 100% of the webinars.Objective 2:We will seek facilitator feedback and training satisfaction and knowledge gains. Results will be used to improve future AMP facilitator trainings.We will also track the number of those trained who implement AMP in their counties.Objective 3:We will assess several outcome variables. For example, AMP participants will complete a baseline, post-assessment and 3-month follow-up assessment, including valid and reliable measures, delivered in both English and Spanish. Outcome measures will examine isolation and loneliness, knowledge and use of aging-related resources, self-reported health, social support, depressive symptoms and quality of life. Opioid and other substances usage will be tracked during assessments.At the 3-month assessment, we will conduct focus groups with AMP participants. This will allow us to further understand and contextualize changes in outcomes and assess the need for AMP booster sessions. All measures and focus groups will be administered in English and Spanish.Finally, we will conduct one fidelity check per site and track participant dosage. These data will assist in understanding if the project was implemented as we intended and if results from data analysis for Objective 3 vary depending on AMP sites/target populations.