Communicating Aging in Place Successes

When implementing an aging in place program for rural communities, it is also important to share lessons learned and the impact your aging in place program had within the community. Sharing successes allows other rural communities to improve, modify, or develop new programs of their own.

Using personal stories and testimonials when communicating a program's successes and lessons learned can help increase information processing. For example, bringing in the voices of the older adults who have benefited from the program can provide authenticity to the message, increasing the influence of the program's dissemination strategy. Using narratives like this can be a valuable tool for explaining aging in place programs to important audiences, including participants, family members, community members, funders, and policymakers.

Programs should use a variety of dissemination methods to share project findings and successes of rural aging in place at the local, state, and national levels in order to reach as many people as possible. More information about what and how to share about a program's success and lessons learned can be found in the Rural Health Information Hub's Rural Community Health Toolkit.

Resources to Learn More

Communication and Dissemination Strategies to Facilitate the Use of Health-Related Evidence
Document
A systematic review that discusses effective communication methods and formats, a variety of approaches for disseminating evidence, and ways to communicate uncertainty to different target audiences.
Organization(s): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Date: 7/2012

Creating an Effective Dissemination Plan
Presentation Slides
Provides an overview of what a dissemination plan is, key considerations to an effective dissemination plan, a CDC example, and various resources.
Author(s): Elsberry, L., & Mirambeau, A.
Organization(s): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Date: 10/2015