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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Aging and aging-related services

The Evolution and Promise of Age-Friendly Ecosystems in Rural Communities
Notes the challenges of aging in rural communities and highlights the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative (NRAFI) by the National Rural Health Association and The John A. Hartford Foundation. NRAFI works to promote cross-sector collaboration to address those common challenges. Describes the NRAFI's work to date in creating and disseminating information, training community health workers, and building a networking infrastructure to facilitate collaboration.
Author(s): Rebecca Yeboah, Laura B. Hudson, K. Piper Martin
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Society on Aging
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Transportation: The Missing Link in Family Caregiver Support
Provides information on transportation services the professional or family caregivers of people with disabilities or aging-related challenges. See pages 8-9 for discussion of rural-specific challenges and strategies.
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organizations: ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center, National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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Wandering Elder & Alzheimer's Toolkit: Creating a Tribal Elder Safety Net to Address Wandering Persons
Provides guidelines, tools, and strategies supporting community responses to wandering incidents among tribal elders with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Discusses cultural, clinical, and community factors influencing ADRD prevalence and treatment, wandering behavior, and community response in tribal nations and communities.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: International Association for Indigenous Aging
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Rural-Urban Differences in PACE Organization and Enrollee Characteristics
Compares differences between rural and urban Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and their enrollees. Presents data on enrollment, eligibility, length of time in PACE, age, and sex.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana Tuttle, Ingrid Jacobson, Madeleine Pick, Julia Interrante
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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2025 Aging Innovations & Achievement Awards Showcase: Honoring Successful Initiatives of USAging Members
Offers examples of 41 innovative and high achieving programs related to the care of older adults in local communities. Includes rural examples in the areas of telehealth, outreach, and bridging the digital divide.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: USAging
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Arizona State Health Assessment, 2024
Reports on the health of people in Arizona, including population subgroups, social determinants of health, and priority health issues. Discusses health and access disparities in rural, tribal, and border areas. Includes county-level data.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Department of Health Services
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What We Heard: Initial Feedback on The Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging
Summarizes feedback offered to the Administration for Community Living (ACL) on Aging in the United States: A Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging, a plan for creating a national set of recommendations for healthy aging and age-friendly communities. Notes rural concerns related to transportation, internet access, safety, and healthcare access.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Community Living
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National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease: 2024 Update
Action plan outlining 6 goals for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address the challenges facing people with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) and their families and to minimize the burden of AD/ADRD. Includes action items related to AD/ADRD treatment and care quality, public awareness and engagement, data tracking, and collaboration to support underserved populations, including rural and tribal communities.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Caring for Pennsylvanians with Dementia and Related Disorders: An Analysis of Needs and Capacity in Rural Areas, 2024 to 2034
Examines potential demand for care of people living with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder (ADRD) in rural Pennsylvania. Features county-level maps showing numbers of various types of care facilities and their capacity, and statistics including projections of the population aged 65+ and rate of increase from 2020 to 2040, age-adjusted mortality rate from ADRD, projections of number of ADRD cases by 2040, and impact of smoking and obesity on ADRD, with breakdowns by county.
Author(s): Dara P. Bourassa, Sara A. Grove
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Triad Program Perspectives on Preventing and Addressing Elder Abuse in Rural Communities
Brief presenting results from informant interviews with representatives of rural Triads, multi-sectoral community-based partnerships addressing elder abuse, to highlight rural-specific dimensions of this issue. Adds information to what is already known about rural elder abuse prevention and intervention.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Alyssa Fritz, Ingrid Jacobson, Marti DeLiema, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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